


A Different Point of View

by Tianasina



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Action & Romance, F/M, Humor, Multi, Romance, Sexual Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2020-05-20 03:28:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 66,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19368976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tianasina/pseuds/Tianasina
Summary: Life wasn't easy for Elise Tummelt, and being assistant to Chancellor Izunia didn't make life any easier. This is her story.





	1. Innocent Eyes

A Different Point of View

 

Chapter one

Innocent eyes

 

She was five when she first met him. If anyone had told her that that meeting would have been one of the most important ones of her life, that this event moulded her very future, she would have laughed at them. After all she had only been five at the time, how could a simple meeting have a profound and lasting effect on her very future? Alas, the author is getting ahead of themselves, _she was five when she first met him._

She had been brought with her father, a leading scientist of the Empire, to his research lab. Her mother had recently died and she had no other carers, so she was set up on a sofa with some books while he tapped at a computer at his desk.

She sighed and flicked her brown hair out of her eyes- she needed a hair cut. She sighed again and tried to read her book, but it was a moot point, she had only just begun to read and she found herself struggling to connect the letters into words. She put her book down on her chest and kicked her feet against the cushions on the sofa. She looked around the room to see if there was something to do. She was in a standard imperial office, it was white, it was sterile, there was a desk and some bookcases with books that were far too advanced for her. She closed her eyes and let out another sigh, perhaps she could sleep the day away? It took her exactly fifth teen seconds to realise that she could _not_ in fact, sleep. She was a five year old, there was no way that she was taking a nap, too much pent up energy. The fact that her father’s tapping was driving her crazy as well.

“Daddy...” she whined. “This is boring.”

“Read your book Ellie...” her father mumbled, his eyes not leaving the screen.

The girl, Ellie, rolled her eyes, that had been the only response he had given her all day. She was bored, she had been there for what had to be at least a few hours. Which to a little girl felt like _years_. She sat up and kicked the base of the sofa. Her stomach rumbled, she touched it lightly and looked over to her father who was still typing!

“Daddy, I’m hungry...” her green eyes watched as her father continued to watch the screen. She sighed. “Can I get something to eat?”

The typing did not cease. “You know where the cafeteria is, go get something…” as she jumped from the couch he added. “Don’t go anywhere else...”

“I know daddy.” she walked past him and to the door. She opened it and looked back at her father with a frown. She wished that he would come with her, she knew that he wouldn’t, she had asked before. She stepped from the room and closed the door behind her with a click. She had been there enough times to know exactly where the cafeteria was. She took a left and proceeded down the stark corridor. She hated this place, it was cold and metal and she felt uneasy being here. However, due to the amount of time she spent here she knew that it was safe enough, at least it _seemed_ safe enough.

A man shuffled past her and proceeded down another hallway, either he had not noticed her, or he had seen enough of her to not care. She watched their retreating back until they turned again, she then took a door to her right and found herself in her desired location. The cafeteria was not much different from her father’s office, there was just more tables, cupboards, a refrigerator and a vending machine. She felt in her pants pockets for some gil, she found twenty gil, enough for some cheese and crackers. She put the money in and waited for her food to drop out. The packet moved lightly but did not drop to the bottom. She frown and tapped the machine with her hand. Nothing.

“Why….” she let out a chocked sob. Why did the machine do that to her? She felt her lip tremble. All she had wanted was some food, why couldn’t the stupid machine just give her the cheese and crackers? She bit back a sob and headed back to her father’s office, maybe he could give her some more money? Or come and fix the stupid machine?

As she headed to the door she jumped back as it opened. She froze and watched as a man walked in. He was a strange looking man in a fancy looking suit, black slacks and a white frilly shirt with a gold vest. She had seen high class Imperials before but had never seen anything like his outfit before. She eyed him curiously and he paused at her presence.

“Why hello there.” his voice was cheerful.

She watched as he stepped towards her, the first thing she noticed was that he smelled nice. He knelt down in front of her and his Amber eyes scanned her. “I didn’t know there was someone so young here, what’s your name my dear?” he smiled at her.

Ellie eyed him for a few moments before answering, her voice slipping into formal. “My name is Elise May Tummelt. I am here with my father.”

He quirked a brow. “Oh?” he extended a hand to her. “A pleasure to meet you Miss Elise, I am Ardyn.”

She took the offered hand, it was warm and strong. She looked at his warm smile and found herself returning the smile. He rose from his kneeling position but did not remove his hand. “Are you hungry?”

Her stomach rumbled before she could answer, causing him to let out a chuckle. “There is no honesty more true than that of ones stomach.” he quipped causing her to flush embarrassed. He took notice and his lips twitched.

“Now my dear, no need to be embarrassed, come, I shall get you some nourishment.” he stepped towards the vending machine only to stop when she made a sound of protest. “Is something the matter?” he asked with a raised brow.

“The… the machine isn’t working...” she said quietly, at his questioning look she explained her predicament with her cheese and crackers.

“Is that so?” he turned his attention back to the machine and released her hand. “Well then… it is a good thing that I am magical.” he raised his brows encouragingly at her before he hit the side of vending machine, causing the main glass door to swing open, revealing the treasure within.

Her eyes widened with excitement and she moved towards the machine before stopping, was she allowed to do this? Wasn’t this stealing? He seemed notice her hesitation. “It’s okay, I promise.” he took out a cookie, unwrapped it and held it out to her. “We won’t get in trouble.” he assured with a wink.

She reached out to the offered item hesitantly, something felt wrong, this was stealing. But then she looked to his warm smile and everything felt alright. She couldn’t name why but something about the man before her, Ardyn, was safe, she took the cookie causing his smile to brighten. He took some more treats from the machine and spread them out on the table. He turned back to her and gestured to one of the chairs.

“Come sit, I shall get us some milk.” he walked to the refrigerator while she sat at the table. She watched as he took a jug of milk out and returned to the table with the jug and two cups. He poured a glass and passed it to her. She said a thanks and dunked her cookie into it. As she took her cookie out she noticed that he was watching her.

“That looks delicious, I think that I shall have some too!” with a grin he opened a cookie packet and put it into his own milk. She watched as he took a bite, he let out a pleased sound and grinned. “That _is_ delicious.”

Ellie grinned and dunked her cookie again. “Daddy doesn’t like me doing this.” she said taking a bite. “He says it’s bad manners.” she made a face and stuck her tongue out.

Her words caused him to chuckle and re-dunk his cookie. “But he is right,” he smirked. “it _is_ bad manners,” at her frown he chuckled. “but bad manners can be _fun_.” he poked his tongue out before finishing his cookie in one whole bite, causing her to let out a laugh.

He looked over the items on the table and picked up another sweet. “Now what would your father say to us having more sweets?” he opened the packet and pulled out some toffee.

“ _Too many sweets are bad, they make you portly, you’ll lose your teeth and no one will marry you._ ” she put on a stuffy voice, impersonating a speech her father had given her once when she had wanted some chocolate for dessert. Her voice acting skills caused him to laugh and she felt herself grin at him.

“So,” he said suddenly. “What do you want to do, sweets or no sweets?” he raised a brow and leaned forward on the table.

Ellie eyed the items on the table and grinned. “I think, that I would like the sweets.” she picked up a packet of chocolate and opened it. She grinned at him and he returned it.

She ended up spending some two hours talking to him. He was kind ad would always offer her something if he felt that she was hungry or thirsty. He had asked her about her favourite things and she had talked, she had talked so much that any other person would have sent her away by now, but he seemed indulgent to her chatter. For the first time in a long time, she felt as though someone was listening to her she really liked this man, Ardyn.

While she was telling him about school he looked up at the wall and frowned, causing her to stop. He looked at her with an apologetic expression. “I am sorry my dear.” he said. “I am afraid that I must return to the dreary place that is work.” he rose from the chair and held a hand out to her. “Shall I escort you back to your father Elise?”

Ellie frowned. She did not want to go back to her father, she was having _fun_ with Ardyn. She pulled herself from the chair with a slump to show her displeasure. She lifted her hand to his and she shoulders slouched. “Hey,” she watched as he knelt beside her. She looked at his face and he nudged her chin with his free hand. “Chin up, you’re young, it’s not the end of the world,” he chuckled as though he found something amusing. “come on, let’s get you back.”

He walked her back to the room and passed her some more sweets. “Thank you for your wonderful company Miss Elise.” he ruffled her hair.

She smiled at him. “I’d like to see you again.”

“Perhaps one day you will.”

Before she could stop herself she had flung her arms around his legs. “I’ll miss you!”

“...My dear...” he touched her head lightly.

It would be two years before she met him again.

 

XXX

 

“Ugh Dad this is so boring!” The girl, who was now seven, complained. She was again sitting in her father’s office. “I’m seven years old, why can’t I just stay home- or even with my cousin Loqi?” she twisted some of her hair with her fingers- it had grown longer over the last two years.

“You know why that isn’t an option.” her father mumbled onto his finger as he stared at the screen.

She sighed. Yes, she knew why. Her father wasn’t important in the Empire and had chosen to marry her poor mother rather than someone of class, causing his brother to cut off ties. Once her mother had died, the tension had lessened between the brothers, but her father still did not feel comfortable leaving her with her Uncle. he reason why she had to go with her father to the facility some days, days when she couldn’t stay with a friend. She sighed again and looked over at her homework, she had already finished it and she was almost saddened by the fact, at least if it was unfinished, she would have had something to do, but no, she now had to find something to do. She looked over at the bookshelves, they were ll filled with tomes of knowledge about whatever her father was doing- she really had no interest in reading them herself. She had tried, but they were just so dry! Perhaps were she older…

“Can I go and get something to eat then?” she asked.

Her father pulled some gil from his pocket and placed it on the desk. She took the gil and left the room, “Would you like anything?” She called out.

“Coffee!” came the reply.

She walked to the cafeteria, a way that she could navigate blindfolded, she had done it enough times. She walked into the cafeteria and turned on the coffee machine before turning to the vending machine. She narrowed her eyes at it. “Now...” she said darkly. “You are going to give me my food.” she put the money in the slot and pushed the key for the item she wanted. She let out a sound of frustration when the machine did not give her the food.

She glared hotly at the machine and attempted the trick that she had been shown all of those years ago. She smacked the side of the machine, when nothing happened her scowl deepened. She raised her hand and tried again, but alas it was not meant to be, the machine remained unresponsive. She growled and raised her hand to try again.

“Having some trouble are we?” she let out a shriek and jumped away from the machine. She slipped her hands behind her back and tried to look innocent, even though she knew that she would fail. She looked at the person who had caught her and her eyes widened.

“Ardyn?”

He grinned at her and leaned against the doorway, his stance was lazy ad at ease. She felt herself relaxing, it had been years, but she still remembered him, how he had helped her, how he had spent time with her, how _safe_ he had been. His eyes glittered with humour as she relaxed, his clothing style had not changed, she noted absentmindedly.

“The one and only.” he replied. “How nice of you to remember me, Elise.”

Ellie smiled at him and gestured to the vending machine. “Would you possibly, please, help me?”

“Such manners.” he pushed himself from the door frame and fluttered to the vending machine. He then repeated the action that Ellie had tried so many times by herself. Only he was successful in his endeavor, the door swinging open.

Ellie’s eyes went wide. “You have to tell me how you do that!” she exclaimed before moving to collect her prize.

Ardyn grinned and tapped his nose. “Magician’s and tricks my dear.” he walked over to the table and sat down. He watched as she brought over the food to share with him.

_Ardyn became, something of a feature in her life from that point, at least once a month she would meet him in the cafeteria. He would help her with some food and she would regale him with stories of her life, she liked talking with him, even if she did get the impression that he found her amusing at times._

_He was her friend._

XXX

When she was the age of eleven her father died and she was placed in the care of her Uncle, Ignacious Tummelt. So she was unable to return to the facility. As if the death of her father had not been enough, she had lost the only real friend that she had had. She had tried to ask her Uncle once, if she could return to the facility to meet with her friend, if only to see him once more. He had scoffed and sent her off to her studies. So she pushed herself into her studies, knowing there was not much else left for her. Her cousin was training to become a soldier and her Uncles focus was on him. This gave her the opportunity to study as she pleased, she studied science, history and art. As the years went by she grew into a young woman, and before she knew it she was fifteen years old.

X

“Elise, come now!” A deep voice called from the downstairs.

“Just a minute!” Ellie called back, she looked at herself in the mirror of her armoire. She pinned her long dark hair back with some pale red crystal flower barrettes. Her green eyes flashing over her face and down to her sleeveless red dress. She tugged her dark gloves up to her elbow and patted at invisible dust on her silk dress. She was happy enough with her appearance, and smiled to herself.

“Elise Tummelt, you will come down this instant!” the voice was louder and she found herself rolling her eyes.

“Coming!” she called out. She took one last look at herself, winked at herself and walked out of her room. She walked down the grand staircase into the foyer of her uncle’s manor. Then man in question was standing by the double doors with her cousin. She came to a stop in front of the imposing figure. “Sorry, sir.” she said demurely.

Loqi made a face at her and her Uncle frowned. “Let us go.” he said simply and turned from the foyer and out of the doors.

“Come princess.” Loqi sneered at her before following his father.

“Good luck to me...”

X

They were at a party. An Imperial party. And being an imperial party, it was fancy, filled with people and uncomfortable. Ellie hated it, she hated the hordes of snooty rich people who would all look down at her. Just because she didn’t act like them or perhaps they had some sense to tell when people didn’t belong. Either way she hated it.

She sipped on her juice and wished it was wine. Her Uncle was discussing something with  V [ erstael Besithi ](https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Verstael_Besithia) a, the creep. Something about him disturbed h er, she took another sip, it would only be a matter of time before she was called over and made to talk to the creep. Her Uncle gestured to her and she sighed, here it was. She slowly walked towards them, Besithia’s eyes watched her as she stopped in front of him. He took her hand and her skin crawled as he gave her a light bow.

“ How pleasant to see you again, Miss Tummelt.” his voice sent a chill down her spine. She pulled her hand away and ignored the glare her uncle sent her. What? She was fifteen for goodness sake, she did not want some creeper touching her.

“ It is good to see you as well.” she replied with a frown before she was launched into a dull conversation about battle strategies. She feigned interest and nodded when she needed, but she really did not want to hear about it. People were dying and  they were having a party, how was that fair? While she was listening to them prattle about something, a laugh caught her attention. She frowned, she  _ knew  _ that laugh. She scan ned behind her father and uncle before turning. At the other side of the room  _ he  _ was there talking with a pale blond man,  _ Ravus _ , her mind supplied. Before she could stop them, she found her feet moving of their own accord. She heard her uncle make a sound of protest  but she ignored it. Her heels clicking as she sped towards him. Her heart raced and she felt her eyes sting. Could it really be him? She stopped beside them, catching the attention of the blond.

H e narrowed his eyes at her. “What do you want?”

“Now now,” _ He  _ said and his voice made her heart stop. “where are your manners?”  _ he _ was chastising, or taunting the other. “Is that any way to speak to someone?”  _ He  _ turned to her and she swore that his eyes widened a fraction before he smiled widely. “Especially someone as gentle as Elise?”

It was  _ him _ . Her friend. Ardyn. “A-Ardyn…?” her voice shook and before she could control herself, she had jumped at him. Her arms winding tightly around him. She had missed him so much.  Her friend.  _ Her friend.  _ She squeezed him tight as tears began to fall, her arms tightened as she felt a hand pat her on the head.

“Elise!” Her Uncle’s scandalised shout caused her to jump back from Ardyn. “Get away from Chancellor Izunia!”

She gasped. Ardyn was the Chancellor? She had spent the entire time that she had known him, thinking that he was just one of the workers at her father’s lab. But he had been the Chancellor all of this time? Why would he spend time with her then? Why would the Chancellor spend his time sitting with her eating sweets?  She eyed her Uncle and the ‘Chancellor’ wearily, she could feel the eyes of everyone at the party on her. Embarrassment tinted her cheeks.

“ Ah Tummelt.” Adryn greeted with his smile and an incline of his head.

Ignacious bowed and sent his niece a scowl, before looking back at the Chancellor. “I would like to apologise for my nieces,  _ uncouth _ , behaviour.”

Ardyn let out a chuckle and put an arm around the girl. “It is  _ quite  _ alright Tummelt, myself and Elise are old friends.” he patted her head again and she was unsure whether to laugh with him or fuss over her hair, she opted for a small smile. “Aren’t we, Ellie?” 

Ellie smiled at the use of her nickname, it had been  _ years _ since anyone had called her Ellie. Not since her father. She turned to him and nodded. “Yes sir!” he laughed and she felt herself join him. It had taken some time, embarrassment and dirty looks, but eventually Ardyn led her from the party and she found herself sipping tea with him in the kitchens. 

“ Do you still enjoy cookies?” he asked, sliding her a plate.

She smiled, took one, and proceeded to dunk it in her coffee. At his laugh she felt her cheeks redden. “Old habits.” she said quietly.

“Are hard to die.” He replied softly.

“I missed you…” she said quietly.

“I’m flattered that you think so highly of me.”  he sipped his tea. 

“ You were my only friend.” she said quietly. “I didn’t think that I would ever see you again.” she was pensive and she found herself stroking the edge of her mug. 

“Oh now don’t be like that.” came his reply.

S he felt herself relaxing at the sound of his voice, he still sounded the same, even after all those years.  She felt a smile tug at her lips. “So,” she quipped. “….Chancellor Izunia?”

_ She had missed having conversations with him. The two of them spent what was nearly the entire party laughing at the people and their silly parties.  They ate sweets and laughed when she spilled her milk on her fancy dress. He laughed when she stole his hat and did her best impression of him. It was the best fun that she had had in years. _

“Elise!” came the angered voice of her uncle from the stairway into the kitchen. He stormed in and was met with the sight of his niece, with the Chancellor’s hat on her head, covered with milk stains, and chopping vegetables. While the Chancellor sat on a stool laughing and clutching at a cup of coffee. His eyes flashed red. “ What are you doing?! Get upstairs, we are leaving this instant!”

Ellie stilled and slowly reached for the hat on her head. She held it out to the Chancellor and he took it from her gently. Sh e slowly walked towards her Uncle, not before stopping towards the smiling Ardyn. “Thank you, for everything.” she said quietly then walked to the stairs. 

“I would like have a chat with you Tummelt.” she heard Ardyn say, but she did not hear their conversation.

_ F rom that point on she found herself being treated differently. Her uncle was cooler to her. People around her treated her as more of an outsider than before. Apparently her friendship with the Chancellor had further skewed people’s views of her. Why, she could not say, and in the end she did not care, her friendship was far more important to her than the opinion of others. _

_The years went by and on her twentieth birthday she received some news from her Uncle…_

_XXX_

“I…. I what?” she gasped.

Her Uncle’s lips tightened and he took a deep breath. “You have been selected,  _ hand picked, _ by the Chancellor Izunia himself, to be his personal assistant.”  he held out a piece of paper to her.

She accepted the sheet and looked down, scanning the words…

_Dear Elise,_

_How lucky you are, from this day onward, you are to be my personal assistant. How lucky! I expect to see you a nine sharp tomorrow!_

_See you soon!_

_Chancellor Ardyn Izunia._

_P.S: Do dress nicely._


	2. The Beginning

Chapter Two

 

The Beginning

 

Ellie took a breath as she stepped out of the taxi and into the driveway of the Chancellor’s manor. She felt herself gasp as she took in the sight of the building. It was beautiful, it was even more impressive than her Uncles mansion. However as she looked at it, she could tell why she had heard others say that it matched the Chancellor. It was imposing but lavish at the same time. Ivy scaled the walls, the brown and red leaves contrasting the dark building. She lifted her suitcase from the car and nodded to the cab driver as he pulled away.

She clutched at her suitcase, her letter from Adryn had instructed her to bring what she needed and not to worry about anything else. She hadn’t had much anyway, only her clothes and anything else she had left behind. She began her trek towards the house, leaves crunched under her feet as she drew nearer to her new home.

“You can do this.” she encouraged herself as she stepped up the steps and reached the wooden double doors. “You can do this…” she raised a hand and pressed the doorbell, a buzzing sound hit her ears. “You can do this.” She twisted her foot around and looked around the porch. It seemed fairly simple, some ceramic pots with peace lillies and a statue suit of armour. She had to admit that she was surprised, from the way that people talked about Ardyn, she had almost expected there to be bodies hanging from the walls to warn off visitors, this was pretty normal.

The door opened with a creak, and an older man in a black suit greeted her. “Ah! Miss Tummelt!” the man’s voice was wheezy, that and his white hair were indications of his age. “The Chancellor informed us of your arrival,” he took the suitcase from her and stepped back from the door. “come in,” he gestured his head, “come on.”

As she passed through the threshold of the doorway she was again struck with how normal the place looked. Yes it was a gaudy shade of red and filled with varying types of suits of armour and paintings, but it could have been much worse. She was honestly surprised with how normal it was, although did she really expect the dead bodies and tortured souls that people had told her were there? She shook her head wryly, she knew they were wrong.

The older man brushed past her and gestured for her to follow him up the stairs to the second floor. “I’ll show you to your room.” his shoes tapping echoed through the room. “We’re quite excited to have you here, Miss Tummelt,” he called back at her. “It’ll be nice to have a new face here.”

“I’m excited to be working for Ardyn- I mean Chancellor Izunia.” she corrected herself with a flush, it had been years and she was still not used to referring to him as the Chancellor. “Tell me, what is it like working for the Chancellor, Mr-?”

“Oh beg my bad manners Miss, my names Timms, Rupert Timms.” he reached the top of the stairs and turned left to a hallway. “It’s quite pleasant working for the Chancellor, Miss, contrary to what you’ll hear in the city, the Chancellor is a delight to work for, a _delight_.”

Ellie nodded and stopped as they reached a door. Rupert opened the door with a click and gestured for her to enter. As she stepped through the threshold she was met with the sight of a simple,  but elegant room. There was a double bed with lovely floral sheets, an amoire, what appeared to be a walk in robe, a door to an ensuite and a double glass door window which led onto a small balcony. It was very simple but she found it comfortable. It smelled, she noticed, of flowers, she liked it.

“This is your room,” Rupert followed behind her and placed her suitcase on the floor beside the bed. “You’re free to do with it as you please, just don’t leave it in a mess.”

Ellie nodded and stepped around the room, taking in the white walls and  a landscape painting on one of the walls. A grass field and a tree, it was beautiful, but something about it made her sad. “Don’t worry,” she answered in response to Rupert’s words, she turned to him with a smile. “I’m a pretty clean person.”

“Hm.” The older man nodded, then turned to leave the room. “Would you like to see the rest of the house now, or shall I give you some time to settle?”

“I’ll see the house now,” she followed him out of the room. “Will I be seeing A-The Chancellor today?” she enquired as she followed him down the hallway. She looked at the burgundy walls- An Imperial fashion many years ago- and took in the various paintings hanging from them. They seemed to be mostly landscapes, however there were some paintings of people, who they were she had no clue. 

“Chancellor Izunia shall be returning in three days.” Rupert replied before turning down another hallway. “This is the Chancellor’s room, he gestured to a door but made no movement to open it. “There will be little need for you to go in there. He then gestured for her to follow him.

She touched the wood of the door lightly before following after the older man. He then showed her the study, a  small  room  where the walls were all bookcases,  there was  a desk in the middle  of the room and  there were papers scattered across the table as well as books, there were books everywhere!  O n the table and all over the floor. She felt herself frowning at the state of the room it was disgusting! There was stuff everywhere! How did he allow the room to get to this state ?  It was horrifying!

“This room is the Chancellors personal study, if you are unable to find him, he will most likely be here.” Rupert ushered them out of the room and noticed the expression on her face. “The Chancellor is an… eccentric fellow.” he closed the door behind them with a click.

“Now,” he began as he led her down the stairs. “You are expected to be away at four o’clock in the morning to prepare yourself and ready his agenda for the day. The chancellor has no routine, he wakes when he feels like it so it is better to be awake and ready for him. You will maintain a neat and professional presentation..” he continued to talk to her about the routines of the house and what was expected of her while he showed her the various rooms and where things went.

After her first day she found herself in her bedroom reflecting on the day. She was tired and overwhelmed, but  she felt as though she was going to be okay. Rupert  had answered all of her questions, the cook, Mabel, seemed nice enough and had told her what meals that Ardyn enjoyed and how long it would take to make them. In fact, if she felt pretty good about the situation and felt confident in her abilities. She found herself smiling, it was going to be fine.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep… she had three days until Ardyn returned. Three days to try and remember and learn everything. Three days. Three.

‘Worrying about it won’t help me, I’ll be fine...’ she squeezed her eyes shut and clutched at the duvet.

 

_Sleep did not come easy to her._

 

_Day Two_

 

She woke with a start to the blanket being ripped from her. Her body shivered and her eyes shot open before she let out a groan and covered her eyes to block the light from her eyes. She clutched blindly for the blanket and tried to blink out the flashing colours before her eyes. “Wha- who- wha?” she slurred rubbing at her eyes. She blinked and moved her hand away only to be met to the sight of Rupert, looking most displeased with her.

“It is ten minutes past four and you are still in bed, what are you doing?” he glared down at her.

She jumped and reached to cover herself.

“Oh stop I have no interest in looking at you silly girl.” he snapped and turned away from her. “Get dressed and be out in ten minutes.” and with that he left the room.

Ellie staggered out of the bed and leaned against the wall. She didn’t think that there should have been a four o’clock. ‘What asshole decided that this was an acceptable time to wake up?’ she thought to herself while she looked for her clothes. Some nice slacks and a white shirt. She quickly pulled her hair back into a pun and brushed her teeth before slipping her shoes, low heeled black, and walked out to see Rupert waiting for her.

“Now,” he said with sharp eyes. “You are going to the kitchen and will be learning how to set up for the morning.”

She nodded and headed downstairs to the kitchens to find Mabel tottering around. On the centre island of the room, on the stone bench top, rested a vase with some white lillies. The windows were open and she felt herself saddened that it was still too dark for the light to shine through, only a cold draft.

“Good to see you awake, my dear.” Mabel said blithely.

Ellie gave an uncomfortable smile. “What do I need to do?”

Mabel stopped what she was doing and turned to the younger girl. “You need to learn how to set the table, then we’ll work on how to make his breakfast, then coffee.” she pulled out some plates, a tray, some cutlery and a vase. “You will be setting these on the tray, as though there was food on them.”

Ellie nodded. This was something that she at least remembered from yesterday. She slowly picked up the plates and set them in the centre of the tray, she chanced a glance at Mabel who was watching her with a blank expression. She then reached for the cutlery and set them up neatly, again she received a blank stare. Ellie felt slight panic but continued on, she set up the vase on the tray and took a flower and placed it in her little vase. She stood back and smiled at herself, it looked pretty, she was happy with it.

“Nice,” Mabel nodded. “You need to work on your speed, too slow. The food would be cold by now.” she offered Ellie a small smile. Now I want you to carry that to the dining room, to get a feel for it, learn how to manoeuvre the doors and the space.” she watched as Ellie picked up the tray. “While we’re young dear.”

Ellie smiled weakly and lifted the tray and started walking to the dining room.

“Other way dear.”

Swearing internally Ellie turned and headed to the door at the other end of the room. She managed to successfully take the tray there and back again. Mabel was looking at her watch when she returned. “You need to have better posture dear.” she commented. “Better posture is key to carrying the tray without damaging your back, it is also more professional, straighten up!”

Ellie straightened her back and frowned.

“Now, we’re going to work on making breakfast and coffee!” Mabel went on to describe the various types of breakfasts that Ardyn enjoyed and Ellie even took attempts at making them, some of them she was successful, but other times things went wrong, she burnt some or added too much of a spice. She ended up feeling quite foolish when she blackened her sixth piece of toast.

“I’m sorry… I’ve never had to make toast with this strange machine before.” she pointed to what she assumed was a toaster, it was a box, with slots and so many buttons that she wasn’t even sure that she could count them. At the look on Mabel’s face she suddenly felt guilty about what she had said, she fidgeted sadly and looked away.

“We shall move onto coffee.” Mabel gestured to the coffee machine. Ellie followed her to it and listened while Mabel explained how to use the machine and what to do and what not to do. Ellie listened carefully and watched the old lady make a cup.

Then it was her turn and she found that making coffee was actually something that she was good at. She did everything that she was told and the coffee was perfect, but as she tasted it, she felt that it was lacking.. it just didn’t seem like something that the Ardyn she had known most of her life would drink. It was too bitter, not smooth enough, not _sweet_ enough. She walked into the pantry and took some cocoa and some chocolate and creamer. She then made the coffee again, this time mixing in the cocoa powder, the creamer and finishing with sprinkling the chocolate shavings over the top. When she was done she sipped it, and found herself smiling. This tasted more like something that he would drink.

“Are you done making yourself coffee? Can we get back to our lessons?” Mabel was looking at her with a raised brow.

“I think,” Ellie held the cup out. “I think that the Chancellor would like this, try some.”

“We’re not making that for him.” Mabel snapped. “Now make it as I showed you.”

“I really think-”

“I have been working for the Chancellor for twenty years and he has always had his coffee this way and he always will, you’ll not come here thinking you know everything, when you don’t, and try to change it. Now do it the way I showed you.”

X

The day had been horrible to her, she had failed at making things, burnt things, had arguments with Mabel and Rupert, and if that wasn’t all she had fallen over while helping mop the floors and had ended up covered in gunk and slime and other fluids and mess. Rupert had sent her to bed for the evening but she had found that after changing, she was unable to sleep.

‘Why am I here?’ she thought sitting up from the bed. She could have done anything with herself, she could have gone on to medical training, she could have done what her Uncle had wanted and joined the military, she could have become a teacher, anything, _anything_ , but instead she had read that letter and had all but run away to work for Ardyn. Had she made the wrong decision? Should she leave? These people certainly made her feel as though she should. She climbed out of bed and slipped on a dressing gown and some slippers. She was going to walk around for a bit, try to clear her head.

It was dark when she opened the door, Mabel and Rupert must have been asleep. She reached for her phone so that she had something to light her way, she didn’t want to wake anyone. She walked down the stairs, maybe some tea would help her to feel better. Before she reached the kitchen however, she noticed that the light to the living room. She stepped close and through a crack in the door she was unable to see anything, but she could hear well enough.

“How is our newest member of the household doing?” her eyes widened, she recognised that voice! It was Ardyn, he must have come home earlier than anticipated.

“Well,” That was Rupert. “it is only her second day, but I feel as though she could do better. I, I do not believe her to be a good fit, she is argumentative, poor work drive and has already broken a china bowl when she was mopping.”

“I see, such a _shame_.” Came Ardyn’s response.

Rupert continued to to say all of the things that Ellie had done wrong on her first two days.

Ellie’s eyes widened. Yes, some things had happened, but the least he could do is say she needs to get used to it all! Not to just claim that she doesn’t fit with them! She had tried, _tried,_ to do everything that they had wanted, if they hadn’t been so horrible to her- she stopped, she would show them that she could do better. She would show them! She turned and went back to her room to prepare for her third day.

_She had to prove herself, she owed it to Ardyn and herself._

 

X

 

She was awake at three thirty in the morning and she found herself staring at the ceiling. She was going to get up soon and get ready. She was going to prove herself she was going to do it. She was ready to do it. She climbed out of the bed and showered before dressing herself. She decided that she would not gt the breakfast ready first, there was no point, who in their right mind would have breakfast at four in the morning? Well admittedly she didn’t know, but she had a feeling that Ardyn was not among the ranks of people who had breakfast this early and when she walked downstairs, she discovered that she was, in fact correct. But then again, no one seemed to be awake- it was just her. She felt a trickle of rage flow through her, how dare they tell her off for not getting up early when they hadn’t either.

‘Lazy hypocrites.’ she took an apple from the refrigerator and ate it. ‘I’ll show them.’ she then went about the morning routine of setting up in preparation for when it was time to make breakfast. When she was done with that, she went about opening the windows and letting some air in before continuing on with other jobs.

It was five when Ardyn strutted down the stairs, Ellie had been bringing in the newspaper at the time and nearly dropped it when she saw him. He looked as though he had just woken up, his hair was sticking in all different directions(more so than usual) and he was dressed in what was either the ugliest, or most fabulous black velvet dressing gown, with matching slippers.

“G-Good morning Sir!” Ellie stood up straight and smiled at him. Her heart raced, she remembered what she had heard the night before and hoped that he would not send her away.

His eyes met with hers and he smiled. “Good morning Dear Ellie!” he stepped down to her level. “How are you settling in?”

“Well enough, would you like some breakfast?” she offered him the newspaper which he took with a nod.

“Breakfast would be lovely, would you join me? We have some things to discuss.”

She grinned at him. “I’d like that.”

 

X

 

It was five thirty when Mabel and Rupert came down, the pair were shocked to find their jobs done and Ellie in the kitchen cooking, bacon and pancakes.

“Would you two like something to eat?” there was the lightest hint of sass in her voice as she flipped the pancakes.

“Is this what you plan to give the Chancellor?” Mabel sounded scandalised.

“Why not?” she asked while she went about setting the food out onto plates. The coffee machine let out a ding to indicate that it was ready and she went about making two coffees, the way she had yesterday. She heard Mabel let out a sound of protest but she ignored it and placed the coffees on the tray. She carefully lifted the tray and headed for the room. “Have some, there’s plenty.” she called out to them, referring tot he plate of leftover bacon and pancakes.

She entered the room and saw Ardyn sitting at the table reading the newspaper, she was struck by how normal he looked. She grinned and went about setting their places, she set his food out before setting her own across from him. When she was done she took her seat and waited for him to finish reading.

A few moments later he set down the paper and looked at the food in front of him. His amber eyes lit up at the sight. “Is that bacon? Ooo and pancakes!” he almost looked like a child at Christmas he was so excited. He lifted his knife and fork and started eating.

Ellie watched him for a little while before starting on her own food. She grinned behind the fork, it was good. She wondered if he felt the same, though from the smile on his face, she doubted that he didn’t like it. “How is it Sir?” she asked.

Ardyn looked up from his plate and she nearly laughed at the sight, this was the man that she remembered! “It is good!” he sipped his coffee and paused. She felt her heart stop, she knew he’d like that food, but the coffee? That had been what she was unsure of. She felt panic run through her body, by Shiva she hoped that he liked it.

He set the cup down. “You have a gift for making breakfast, bravo!”

She grinned. She was going to be okay.

 

 

_From that point on, up was the only way that she could go, she improved, she got better, she learned his ticks, she furthered her abilities, she learned to cook, eventually she was allowed to clean his study. Her life was starting to look up._

_For now, things would be fine._


	3. The Party

Chapter Three

 

The Party

 

Ellie leaned against the kitchen bench while she read through, and sorted, the mail. She sorted by what Ardyn would find interesting to what he didn’t want to read. Most of it was correspondence from V[erstael Besithi](https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Verstael_Besithia)a, the Emperor or other members of parliament. She had been working for him for two years now, so she was familiar with who sent him mail and in what order he wanted to read it in. V[erstael Besithi](https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Verstael_Besithia)a, the creeper, his letters came first; _might as well get it over and done with_ , Ardyn had once said about his correspondence. Then came any other mail, military reports, etc. Then to finish it, the Emperor’s letters, Ardyn always seemed to find something in them amusing and would always finish them with a chuckle. 

She laid the mail on his food tray, next to his breakfast of flake-crusted brioche egg toast. She smiled, she had gotten better at cooking, between her own explorations and help from Mabel, she had developed into herself as a cook. She made his coffee and took the food out to his dining room. He was sitting at the table, in a bright teal dressing gown with matching slippers, reading a newspaper. At the sound of her footsteps he looked up from his paper and smiled at her.

“Good morning Ellie!” his voice was cheerful, even with his dishevelled appearance. “Is that for me? Why you do spoil me.” he winked at her before moving the newspaper to make way for the tray. He let out a hum of approval before starting on his food.

Ellie sat across from him and watched him with a small frown. He looked as though he had had a long night, his eyes were sunken, he was pale, paler than usual, he just seemed to be different than usual. More tired, exhausted even. She was tempted to take the mail from him and send him to bed, but she doubted that he would appreciate it, or maybe he would, you never knew with him.

“Oh Verstael.” Ardyn shook his head before scrunching the letter setting it on fire with a small fire spell. 

Ellie’s eyes widened and she jumped forward in her chair, the words on her lips died as he chuckled. “Do not worry Dear Ellie,” he grinned and patted the ash from his hands onto the table. He turned his attention back to the other letters, he read the letters while eating, he moved through the pile easily, he did not burn any others, instead opting to toss them to the floor. He lifted the last letter, the one from the emperor, she watched as his eyes scanned the page. He suddenly let out a chuckle, that was not unexpected. She leaned forward at the table, waiting for him to regale her with some silly thing that the Emperor had said, or wanted him to do.

“Do you have any pretty dresses?” he asked putting aside the letter.

Ellie frowned, and raised a brow, what was this about? “I have one sir, I...” she found herself pushing a hair behind her ear nervously. “I haven’t had much need for one working here...” it was true, she had barely left the house in two years, unless she was leaving with Ardyn for a job or a trip where he needed her assistance. She had developed a routine of doing everything for the Chancellor and her suits had been more than enough for her job,

He leaned his elbow on the table and cupped his chin in his hand. “Well then,” he said with a lazy smile. “We need to have a shopping trip.”

“A… A shopping trip sir?” her voice was cautious.

He grinned, showing his teeth. He lifted the letter and waved it at her. “We’ve been invited to a party,”

Ellie tilted her head and processed what he had said. A party? Probably some Imperial higher up do. She had been to a few in her time working for Ardyn, but never before had she been required to wear a dress, usually she had worn a nice suit and had talked when the Chancellor required her to, or she had spent the time taking war notes from officials. To be asked to wear a dress was, something different to her. The last time she had been required to wear a fancy dress was back when she had been going to parties with her Uncle.

“I suppose that I could find some time to acquire a dress, I won’t allow it to interfere with my work.” She jumped as he let out a laugh.

“Oh Ellie,” he chuckled. “Always business… we’ll go shopping tomorrow, the parties next week! I’m sure we’ll have lots of fun!” he winked at her before he resumed his breakfast.

She flushed and ducked her head.

 

X

 

“The Chancellor’s taking you clothes shopping?” Mabel tilted her head to the side with a raised brow, wonder etching her face. “Ellie dear, are, are you to be his companion for the party?” she seemed either confused or scandalised by the notion. Not that Ellie blamed her, she was confused as well.

“Perhaps it is work related?” Rupert interjected as he walked into the kitchen. He stepped to the butlers pantry and retrieved a bottle of red wine.

“It’s a little early isn’t it?” Ellie asked blandly, before looking at the clock, it was only eleven. Even if she liked a drink every now and then, eleven was a little too excessive for her.

He sent her a look. “It’s for the Chancellor.” he said coolly.

She felt a grin tug at her lips. “I’m sure it is sir.” she pulled herself to sit on the kitchen bench, she ignored Mabel’s glare and crossed her legs. “Is it a good year? I suppose it wouldn’t really matter if you’re drinking it this early, at your age you deserve the wine.”

His lips thinned and his grip on the bottle tightened, he looked as though he wanted to say something, but he seemed to decide against it. With one last look at the two he walked from the room. Ellie grinned and headed towards the butlers pantry, some eleven o’clock wine actually sounded pretty good, now that she thought of it. She scanned the bottles and eventually settled on a bottle of moscato.

“You know Moscato’s a bloater.” Came Mabel’s voice from behind her. “Wouldn’t want that to interfere with your dress fittings tomorrow, would we?”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Honestly Mabel, it’s one glass.” she stepped into the kitchen and found a glass. “You want one?” when Mabel shook her head, she shrugged and poured herself one. She lifted the glass to her lips and sipped. “Oh yum.” she grinned then finished the glass, she entertained the idea of drinking more but decided against it.

“Good luck tomorrow dear.” Mabel encouraged. “You know what the Chancellor is like shopping.”

Ellie nodded. “Yeah, he’s something else.” she gave her glass a quick rinse and put it to dry before leaving the room. She walked into the dining room and wondered what to do with the rest of the day. The Chancellor had apparently decided to spend the rest of his day in bed and while she wished that she could do that, she knew that she probably shouldn’t. She wasn’t being paid to sit around and do nothing, though it felt like it today.

“What to do… what to do...” she thought about things to do, the gardener had already come this week, so she didn’t need to do anything in the garden. She had already taken inventory and done the monthly purchases. She thought about the study and wondered when she had last tidied it. She frowned, it should have been clean in there but it had been over a week since she had dealt with the room, and she knew Ardyn, and she knew what he was like, so it was likely that it was a mess. With a sigh she walked back into the kitchen to collect the rest of her Moscato, and another bottle, just in case it was as bad as her stomach was telling her it was.

When she reached the room, she was surprised, she shouldn’t have been because it was as messy as as she expected it to be. She was surprised however, due to the sheer amount of mess there was. There were books scattered everywhere, not only that, some of them were left open and stacked atop each other, others were placed haphazardly across the floor. It was horrific.

She poured herself a glass of wine. It was going to be a long, long, job.

 

X

 

Ardyn was surprised when he woke up. He wasn’t surprised that he had woken, gods knew that he had no choice there, he was surprised that he woke up to singing, or at least it sounded like singing, it could have been the radio. His mind instantly went to Ellie, the only one in the house who listened to lyrical music, but she was usually quiet about it. She liked to be respectful of the others in the house, bless her.

He sat up, his comforter slid down to rest at his hips. He pulled himself out of the bed and briefly entertained the idea of changing his clothes, but decided against it- he would probably end up back in the bed anyway. So he slipped on his black slippers and headed out of the room.

‘She’s in the study.’ he took three steps across the hallway and cracked the door open. He peered in and felt his face split into a grin at the sight. He opened the door wider and leaned against the frame, he was going to enjoy this.

“Got confidence you'll rise above, Give me a minute to hold my girl~” Ellie swayed her hips from side to side while she sang along to the song, She put a book back where it was supposed to before she reached for another one. She scanned the book, ‘Kings of Lucis, Volume One: Somnus’ she frowned at it and tossed it back on the desk, it was the only book that lived on the table and was not put back into the shelves. She reached for another book and climbed up the stair ladder to the top of a bookcase, she slipped the book in and slid down.

“Pick a place to rest your head, Give me a minute to hold my girl~” she pushed some hair out of her eyes and continued swaying her hips, doing little dips every now and then while she moved around the room. “~Give me a minute to hold my-” she froze, her eyes went wide as they locked with his glittering ones. “I-I...” 

“You don’t need to stop on my account.” his voice was smooth, but filled with amusement. “You sing quite well, and dance too, practising for the party are we?”

She remained frozen in place, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to formulate what to say. “I… sir, I...”

His eyes glanced to the empty bottle of wine in the bin beside his desk, and the open on resting beside a glass on his desk. “Having a party in here? Without me?” He placed his hand to his heart in feigned offence. “Perhaps I shall go and cry, whatever did I do wrong?” his voice was exaggerated and comical.

Something in what he said sent Ellie out of her stupor. “Sir! I’m sorry about this, I-I have no explanation to give you! Nothing other that my apologies!” she bowed. “I’m so sorry sir!”

He stepped towards her and patted her on the head, causing her to tense and look up at him with confused eyes. “Sir?” she flinched lightly while he continued to pat her on the head, a fond expression on his face.

“It’s quite alright dear.” he stepped back and watched her with a hand on his hip. “Perhaps you’d like to get me a glass?” 

Ellie straightened. “Yes sir!” she moved to step past him but he stilled her with a hand to her shoulder.

“Do bring more wine.”

 

_ She spent the rest of her evening sipping wine, reading poetry, discussing the world and its state, and simply enjoying her time with Ardyn.  _

 

X

 

She awoke with a start.  _ Where was she?  _ She rubbed at her eyes to wipe away the last traces of her sleep. It was then that she noticed that she was leaning against something. Something soft. She tilted her head and was met with a fabric that looked suspiciously like the Chancellor’s blue pyjamas. Her heart stopped and she slowly slid away from Ardyn. She quickly glanced around the room, she was on the floor still in the study, which on a bright note, was much cleaner. Her eyes moved back to Ardyn who seemed to be dozing against the bookcase. She looked down, she was still in her suit though it was crumbled. 

She looked back up at Ardyn, he was such a surreal sight. His face was relaxed, his eyelashes fanned down on his cheeks. His head rested on it’s side and his hair was wild. Sticking everywhere in different directions as well as covering his face. She found herself leaning forward and reaching up, her fingers brushed his cheek, she pushed the hair out of his face and behind his ear. 

“Awake dear?”

She jumped, she snatched her hand away from his face. “Sir?”

His amber eyes opened and he gave her a small smile. “You drool in your sleep, quite adorable.”

Her cheeks heated up. “I’m sorry for troubling you.” she clenched her hand on her knees. Her body tensed as a hand touched her cheek, she felt the hair being pushed out of her face, before coming back to rest on her cheek. A thumb brushed against her skin.

“It’s no trouble, Dear Ellie.” his lips twitched. “Now, you’d best get ready, we have a big day ahead.”

She suddenly remembered that they were supposed to be shopping today. “O-Of course sir.” she jumped up to stand. 

“I’ll meet you downstairs in ten!” she heard him call out as she fled through the door.

 

X

 

“Sir are any of these to your liking?” Ellie gestured to a row of suits. 

Ardyn pulled a suit off the rack. He inspected it up and down, a frown on his face, he touched the suit with his free hand and rubbed against the fabric. “Hmm… no.” he slipped the suit back and reached for another. He had the same response to the new suit, then proceeded to do it another four times. 

Ellie frowned, they had so far been to three shops. Three suit shops. Three shops. Three. She shouldn’t have been surprised, this was typical of him. He was fussy about his outfits and it could potentially take hours, even days of shopping trips to find what he was looking for. She watched as he put a suit back the she followed him out of the shop and into the bustling streets of the city. 

They walked along the street together, people in the street cleared out of the way for them. She was used to this, people were either in awe of Ardyn, or frightened, either way they had no trouble walking down the street, people cleared for Ardyn.

“There are three more suit stores near here...” she looked at the map on her phone. “...we could check them out or we could head back to the car and find another shop, there’s a few… about twenty minutes away...” she trailed off and looked from her phone and saw Ardyn heading off ahead of her. There were lots of people out today and the only reason that she could see him was because people were clearing a path for him.

She sighed and chased after him, at least he appeared to be heading into a suit shop? She was wrong, while it was indeed a formal shop, it was not a suit shop, it was a dress shop. She followed him inside and was met with an interesting sight: Ardyn was fingering the hem of a red silk dress while the shop lady watched him wearily as though she had no idea what to do with her situation. Ellie frowned at the lady who was uncomfortable with Ardyn even though he had done nothing wrong. She then gave him a lopsided smirk and holding her elbows walked up to him. 

“I think you would look rather fetching in it Sir.” she joked.

He turned to her with a raised brow and returned her smirk. “I think it would bring out my eyes, don’t you?”

“It would.” She reached up and touched a lock of his hair. “And it would bring out the lovely shade of your hair.” she released the lock and returned to holding her elbows. She leaned her body weight on one leg and pointed her hip to the side.

His lips twitched, his eyes moved from hers to the woman at the counter. “This one, in a four, but perhaps a little tailoring at the hips and bust.”

Ellie blanched and went red as she realised that he was talking about her. How did he know her size? She went redder as she realised what he had said about her hips and breasts. Yes they were a little  _ larger _ than they probably should be, but that was how she was made, she couldn’t help that. She crossed her arms over her chest and followed the lady who was now taking her away to get her measurements. 

 

_ Ardyn eventually found a suit for himself… after another five shops. _

 

X

 

Ellie twisted the curler in her hair and held it for a few seconds before releasing and smiling at the loose curls that had become of her usually straight hair. She pinned a section behind her left ear before lightly spraying some hair spray atop. She looked at herself in the mirror and was pleased with what she saw. Her hair and make up was light and natural but effective, and the dress, the red strapless, side leg split dress that Ardyn had picked looked  _ amazing _ . She loved it. At first she had been sceptical but after wearing it she had changed her mind. 

‘Maybe I’ll meet someone at this ball tonight.’ she thought with a small grin. Taking one last look at herself, she nodded and left her room.

“You look lovely tonight dear.” she almost jumped out of her skin as she nearly walked into Rupert. 

“Gosh Rupert,” she gasped clutching her chest. “Don’t give me a heart attack!” she laughed before giving his shoulder a light squeeze. “Thank you though.” when he nodded in response she headed down to the main foyer, where she was met with the sight of Ardyn in his…. Regular dark suit with large coat?

“Sir?” she asked in confusion.

He smirked. “Aren’t you a sight? Are you ready? let’s go!”

The car ride to the ‘party’ was quiet. She drove the red car while he flipped through a magazine. He seemed completely nonchalant about the whole thing and she was a little confused. What was happening? Why go to the effort of buying clothes and then not wearing them- though that sounded like him, he usually did nonsensical things such as that- then there was buying her the dress, why do that if she was his driver for the night? What did he want to achieve from this?

“That Nox Fleuret boy will be there tonight. His sister being the oracle must put him in an interesting personal position.” he flipped through his magazine. “Oh and your cousin and Uncle should be there as well...” there was a tone to his voice, something, an implication, something that would be passed off as him making conversation was in fact a message.

“Shall I try for some light conversation? A dance perhaps?”

He smiled but said nothing else.

 

X

 

Ellie tugged at her dress and tried to listen to her Uncle while he droned about the usefulness of the Magitek Soldiers and how less Niflheim soldiers were dying in combat now. She tugged at her dress again and wished that she could blend into the walls. She knew that she should have been suspicious when Ardyn had worn his regular suit.  _ She knew  _ it. Apparently the ‘party’ was a gathering of the elite, a dinner party, not a dance or anything of the sort. She felt- and looked- quite ridiculous, she stood out like a sore thumb and felt quite silly being the only one prancing around half naked.

“You must be doing rather well for yourself?” she jumped at her Uncle’s question. She hadn’t been paying attention to him, what was he talking about?

“Sorry?” she gave him an apologetic smile.

He raised a brow at her and gestured to Ardyn and then her, though she had the distinct impression that he was gesturing at her dress rather than her. “The Chancellor bought you that dress, did he not? I was merely enquiring as to your welfare, you seem to be doing well for yourself.”

She frowned at him. What was he implying.

“I am, however, surprised that you chose this path as the one for yourself.” He frowned for a moment before shaking his head. “As long as you are happy and looked after, I can hardly say anything can I?” he reached out and touched her shoulder, causing her to tense lightly, was he trying to give her affection? “I wonder what your mother would have thought of this...” he shook his head. “No matter.” 

Her brow raised high and her lips tightened. Did he think that she was sleeping with Ardyn? Her eyes widened, was that what everyone thought? The idea was almost laughable. In the two years that she had been working for him, she had never seen him bring back a woman or man… so unless he spent time with people while he was away, he wasn’t entertaining people, and certainly not her. He had never even made a pass at her, a friendly hug and pat on the head here and there, but that was it.

Her silence did not go unnoticed by her Uncle who took it as a cue to go get a refreshment, leaving her to stand by herself. She glanced around the room, it was dark, typical of an imperial style, the curtains and walls were black with gold cuts, the tables and cutlery were similar colours. Everything matched, everything was arranged in a way that was neat, proper and regal. The way that the Emperor liked it. Speaking of the Emperor, she glanced to the other end of the room where Ardyn was listening to the old man talk about something. She watched for a while before glancing around the room, there were various groups talking amongst themselves she would have gone to join a group, but being Ardyn’s ‘personal assistant’ put her in an interesting position of pariah-hood, any who she caught eye contact with would glare or quickly look away. 

She sighed and stepped back closer to the wall, perhaps she could observe and see if she could gain any knowledge from her observations- she could learn a lot from watching, last dinner she had learned about two generals who were having affairs on their wives, with each other- Ardyn had apparently ‘had fun’ with that titbit of information.

“If it is your intention to hide, then you should know that you stand out.” she jumped lightly and turned to see Ravus standing beside her, he was wearing a black suit, but his white hair stood out as well as she did.

“You’re one to talk,” she smiled and crossed her arms with a tilt of her hips. “who do you have to hide from?”

His eyes flashed and he glanced quickly to the side before looking back at her. “None of your-”

“Business?” she finished for him with a giggle. She took a glance at Ardyn and the Emperor, then back at Ravus. “It’s okay, I’m avoiding people to, or people are avoiding me, potayto, potahto.” she waved a hand dismissively at him. 

He let out a sound that seemed suspiciously like a snort. “I can see that,” he eyed her. “A person of your position in the Chancellor’s life would be a solitary one.”

‘A person of my position?’ her eyes narrowed. Did everyone think that she was sleeping with him, or was she just being paranoid? “ _ What _ do you mean by that?” there was a sneer in her voice that was unintentional.

“I meant no offence.” he replied evenly. “With the way the world is, times can be hard and a woman should do what they can to survive.”

Her lips pursed and she felt the urge to slap him. “If you’ll excuse me, I see my cousin Loqi over there, we haven’t seen each other in some years..”

He nodded at her. “Family is important.”

She clenched her fists and walked away from him. She suddenly wanted to throw a fit of rage, did everyone think that she was sleeping with him? She had a very important job, she cleaned, she managed his schedule, she sorted his books and mail, she sent missives for him and she remembered every piece of information he gave her. None of that included being naked or bent over desks, or whatever else people thought she did with him. Her cousin was chatting with a young lady, who when she saw her, scowled and left, leaving her cousin confused until he saw her.

“Elise.” he flipped his hair out of his face.

“How are you Loqi? I haven’t seen you in ages.” she smiled warmly at him. 

“I am doing quite well, I have risen the ranks and am more superior to those Lucis ‘soldiers’, I am superior to that  _ Cor _ .” Ellie grinned, Loqi was safe, he was arrogant and sure of himself and he enjoyed talking about only one thing; himself. She was glad that he hadn’t changed in all of the years that she had known him. “I will  _ end  _ this war.”

“I’m sure you’ll do well.” Ellie agreed.

“So I’ve heard that you’re fucking him.” ever the blunt Loqi.

Ellie choked on air. Her eyes widened and her jaw hung open. How dare he ask her that? Her fists clenched as rage and embarrassment took her, but before she could respond, a maid rang something that sounded like a gong, to indicate that they dinner was ready.

 

X

 

Ellie leaned against the railing on the balcony and looked out at the imperial city and the cold mountains surrounding it. The dinner was drawing to a close and she was waiting for Ardyn to finish discussing something with some of the other officers before they could leave. She heard him let out a laugh, he was so animated while talking.

She sighed and dropped her head so everyone saw her as a fanciful prostitute, wonderful. There wasn’t anything that she could do to prevent such rumours. She frowned, let them talk, what was the worst that could happen? She wondered if he would find it amusing? 

“Now why the long face?” she heard from behind.

She turned to him with a wistful smile. “I’m alright sir.” she lied.

He frowned.”Now don’t lie Dear Ellie.” there was a darkness to his voice. “Tell me.”

She felt herself let out a laugh, she pushed some hair out of her face. “Apparently we’re sleeping together.” 

His brows shot up and he threw his head back in a laugh. “Oh dear Ellie, is that all?” he held out an arm for her. “Come now dear, let us go home.”

Her cheeks reddened as she suddenly felt quite silly with herself. She linked her arm with his and he took her hand and squeezed it. “Let them talk, their lips do little else.” she felt his lips touch her forehead before he lead her through the room. She felt herself smiling and her back straightened as she walked beside him with pride.

 

_He always knew how to make her feel better, she would always be grateful to him for it…_

 

 


	4. The beginning

A/N: This chapter contains a little bit of citrus, just a warning.

 

Chapter Four

The Beginning

 

Ellie cuddled the blankets and snuggled into her bed. Ever since she had started the trend of them getting up at at least six, she had woken at five and enjoyed just snuggling in her bed. She was so comfortable, she loved the bed, she loved her room, everything around her made her feel at him. She wondered if she would have felt like this in any other place she lived in. she supposed that she would have, it would have been home, but she chose to believe that this place was special and that was why she felt the way that she did about it.

She glanced at the time, she had twenty minutes before she had to get up. That gave her enough time for some ‘her time’. She leaned over the side of her bed and reached into the bottom drawer and pulled out one of her shameful novels. Moving back into bed she began reading, her eyes pouring over the pages as it became racier and racier. _Strong hands held her thighs open, she gasped as his lips brushed over her thigh, the prickles on his chin tickled her, causing her to squirm._

As Ellie read she felt her abdomen pulse, she slid one of her hands down her stomach towards her core. Her fingers pushed past her knickers and slid down until they found her clit, she gasped as she pushed down on the nub. A quick glance at the clock- she still had time.  _ His tongue was long and hot, pushing inside her. Her head flew back and she tried to push back at him, but his hands held strong and she couldn’t move, she cried out.  _ Ellie’s hand slid lower and her fingers slid through her wet folds, then lower. Her finger circled her core before slipping in, she bit back a moan and continued to read.  _ He pushed her back onto the bed, he climbed atop her, his hard body radiating with heat, his steel eyes burned into her.  _ Her hand sped up its movements, her eyes closed as she felt her core begin to clench, she was close. She dropped the book, her hand continued its movements, her mouth hung open, she was close, her hips moved with her fingers, she was close, she was-

There was a knock at her door. “Rise and shine Dear Ellie!” Ardyn’s voice flowed into the room.

Ellie froze, her body twitched and her heartbeat pounded in her ears. ‘Oh fuck.’ At the sound of her name again she sprung up into the seated position and fumbled to find the book, after a few seconds of panic and fumbling, she found it in it’s spot beside her. The she heard the door handle being turned, she clutched the book and as the door began to open she flung it under the blanket. Ardyn stepped into the room.

“Ah! Ellie, good to see that you’re awake!” he raised a brow at the sight of her. Her eyes wide in a dear caught at headlights expression, her paleness, and her heaving chest. “Are you alright Ellie?” he crossed his arm. 

“I, oh umm, I-I’m alright sir!” she glanced at the clock, five minutes to six...really? She was suddenly taken with annoyance. “Just a bit frazzled, I was sleeping when you knocked- I, is there something wrong?” she tilted her head to the side and crossed her arms over her chest, thank the gods that she was wearing a shirt.

He stared at her for a long time, his eyes locked with hers and she was struck with the thought that he knew that she was lying. She suddenly felt guilty, though she wasn’t sure why, he was the one who had interrupted  _ her _ time. “Well,” he began slowly, a grin tugged at his lips. “we’re going away for a few days! It’ll be fun!” he laughed. “Well come, on! Get dressed,” he turned and headed towards the door. “there’s coffee downstairs,  _ you look like you need it _ .” and with said, he left the room with a laugh.

When the door closed Ellie slumped back into her pillows with a sigh. “Oh my.” she flung an arm over her face. Her body was protesting, demanding, that she finish what she started. She wanted to slink back into the bed and continue, but her encounter with Ardyn had put her out of the mood and she knew that he would come back if she didn’t get up now. She pushed herself out of her bed and went about showering and getting dressed. A simple black skirt with a white button shirt and black blazer complete with her short heeled shoes. Once she was dressed, she tied her hair back and went about packing her things. In her small suitcase she packed a few extra suits, shoes and her other essentials. She also found herself packing her book, vowing to finish her morning exploits as soon as she had an opportunity. 

“I wonder where we’re going today.” she said while picking up her suitcase. In the four years that she had been working for him, she had gotten used to him taking her on random trips. They were usually to the imperial city, or sometimes other places, like Altissia- a smile tugged at her lips, she had loved that trip.

X

She placed her suitcase by the front door before heading into the dining room where she was met with the sight of Ardyn sipping tea and reading a newspaper. At the place beside him was a plate of jam toast and another cup of coffee. She smiled, it was kind of him to make her some breakfast. She sat in her chair beside him and began to eat her toast. She took a quick glance at his newspaper, he was reading an article about the war. She frowned at it and reached for her coffee, she had had enough of this war.

“Where are we going sir?” she asked.

He turned to the next page, an article about the oracle, he frowned and turned the page again. “To the research facility. I have some things to check up on, and I think you’d like it too,” he didn’t offer her anything else. He turned the page again.

“I see.” she finished her toast and reached for her coffee.

“When you’re done we’ll head out.” he continued to flip through the paper, Ellie tried reading some of the articles, but he seemed uninterested in reading this morning and was continuing to flip through the pages. Suddenly she saw an article that caught her attention, her eyes widened and her heart jumped, she tried to read the page but he flipped the page before she could read it.

“Sir would you stop!” she snatched the paper from him and flipped the page back.

“Elise!”

She ignored his shout and white noise rang through her ears as her heart stopped.

 

“ **Veteran General Dead!”**

 

Her hands shook while she read over the article. Her Uncle had died, had died days ago according to the article. Killed in combat, no body had been found as of yet, his airship had been blown up in the battle. She dropped the paper and collapsed into the chair. She had never gotten along well with her Uncle, but he had looked after her when her father had died and had always made sure she had what she needed, he had also looked our for her and shown concern for her welfare. 

Ardyn took the paper and read over the article. “Oh dear.” he frowned and turned to Ellie. “I am sorry Ellie.” He reached over and touched her hair, his fingers running soothing circles through her hair. He caught her as she lunged forwards, her knees landing on the floor and her arms clutched at his shirt while she cried into his lap. He remained silent for some time, continuing to run his fingers through her hair. 

“Come Dear Ellie, we’ll go driving, it’ll clear your head if nothing else.” he leaned down and said quietly as her shaking began to lessen.

She lifted her head to look at him, their noses nearly touching and her red eyes boring into his. If she was to be honest, she would prefer to stay here, he was comfortable, warm and safe. But she knew that he was right, the drive would be good for her, especially if… “Are you driving?” she placed her head back in his lap and closed her eyes.

His fingers brushed her cheek. “Yes,” he said simply. “I’ll drive.”

 

X

 

She closed her eyes at the feeling of the air blowing on her face, her hair flowing back with the wind. She let out a sigh. He had been right, of course, taking the drive had been the best decision for her. She raised her hands and felt the cold air rush through her fingertips. Placing her hands back into her lap she opened her eyes to look at Ardyn. His expression was neutral, relaxed even. As if feeling her eyes on him, he turned to look at her, a small smile tugged at his lips and he reached over to ruffle her already ruffled hair. She laughed and swatted his hands. He chuckled in response.

 

_Driving with him always made her relax, him too. ‘Good for the nerves’ she had once told him. ‘Good for the soul.’ he had said back._

 

XXX

 

“This place...” Ellie murmured as they pulled up to the facility. Most Imperial centres looked the same, when it came to buildings, they tended to stick with what worked and was practical. But there was something about this building, this research facility that looked familiar to her. She felt as though she had been here before. She looked to Ardyn for an inkling.

He shrugged at her and gestured for her to collect their bags. She hastily opened the boot and collected the two suitcases. Ardyn’s was considerably lighter than hers, a fact that had always surprised her. She then chased after him as he walked to the entrance to the facility where two soldiers were stationed. “Be a good soldier and let us in!” she heard him say before the doors opened for them. 

She pulled the handles out and wheeled them behind her. She observed the starkness of the building while she followed behind him. Something felt off about this place, over the clicking of her heels she could hear the faint sound of something, almost like a roar, there was something sinister about it. She followed him into an elevator and waited while it moved down to another floor, the ‘numbers’ were all symbols so she was unable to tell what floor they were on. With a ding the elevator stopped and the doors opened and they stepped out. She continued to follow after him while taking in the sights of the hallway she was again struck with familiarity. She had been here before. When?

He opened a door and strut into a room, she followed behind him and found herself halting at the sight of the room. It had barely changed over the years at all. The desk was in the same place, the books had changed, the couch looked smaller and there was now a bed in the corner where there once was a bookcase, but it still looked the same. This room,  _ this office. _

“This is…” she wheeled the suitcases to beside the couch and touched the fabric, it had aged but someone had been looking after it. She felt her eyes sting, she looked up at him, he was watching her with a wryly smile. “My father...” she dropped her hands into her lap, she was suddenly very tired. 

“Get some rest,” he walked over to the bookcase and pulled out a book. “We’ve got busy days ahead.”

She nodded and slowly lowered her head onto the arm of the sofa. She was struck with nostalgia, unbidden memories of lying on the very same sofa, resting, reading, listening to the sound of her father typing while she played. A tear rolled down her face and she went to sleep. When she woke it was some hours later, at least she thought it was, she wasn’t really sure. Ardyn was gone, the book he had been reading was resting on the bed. She pulled herself up to sit, she wondered where he would be. Flashes of memories from when she was a child, the two of them in the kitchens, came to her mind. She pulled herself to stand, she’d try that.

It would seem that even after all of these years, the facilities layout was still the same. Just as she remembered. She stepped into the kitchen/ dining area and gasped audibly at the memories it invoked. She looked around, there were new tables and equipment, but she noticed, with a smile, that the vending machine was still the same, it had a few dents however, showing just how frustrating it was. At the lack of Ardyn she turned and left to continue her search. She wandered down hallways, noting the lack of people, there were no workers, no scientists, not even any M.T soldiers. She continued to walk, the clicking of her heels her only companion.

Eventually she turned to a hallway and was met with the sight of two M.T soldiers guarding a door. Ardyn was there, she  _ knew _ it. She held her head high and walked towards them. They moved to show her away but she glared at them with her darkest expression. “I am the personal hand of Chancellor Izunia.” she clenched her fist. “You  _ will  _ let me pass.”

The M.T’s went slack and made no motion to stop her. She smirked and walked past them and through the door. She found herself in what appeared to be a laboratory, the walls were books and other tools which she did not know the names of. The growling sounds that she had heard earlier were louder and she felt her heart speed up. She walked through the lab looking at the books and some of the paintings on the walls, some of them depicting macabre monsters, she frowned at them and continued onward until she reached another door, the growling grew louder and she hesitated before steeling herself and opening the door. 

In the next room she saw glass cages containing what she knew to be daemons. The creatures growled at her, drawing the attentions of the many people in the room, among them,  V [erstael Besithi](https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Verstael_Besithia)a and Ardyn.

“Ah, Ellie!” he walked up to her with his arms held open. “You’re awake! Did you sleep well? Come see what the empire has been working on!” he placed a hand on her back and guided her to the centre of the room, close to Besithia. From her spot she could see all of the monsters in the room. Daemons of varying shapes and sizes. All monstrous, all growling, all leering at them as though they were meat. 

“What are we using them for?” she breathed, taking it all in. her eyes locked onto a daemon of hulking stature with large horns.

Ardyn stepped away from her and towards the daemons. “The empire wishes to use these creatures, to turn the tides of this war, Dear Ellie.”

She took a step away from the daemons. The Empire was using them for war? Could they control them? weren’t daemon’s just as likely to attack them as the enemy? What are the guarantees? Why would the Emperor allow this. This felt wrong. This  _ was _ wrong. She took another step back before jumping as a daemon in the holding behind her. She turned to see another one of the big ones lung at the screen again. 

Besithia chuckled. “It cannot break through.”

She took another step away. It certainly  _ looked  _ like it was going to try.

The creature smacked into the glass again. “Oh it is excited today!” Ardyn chuckled.

It continued to pound against the glass, the barrier creaked under the pressure. Ellie glanced around her and noticed a steel rod on a table near her. Without thinking she snatched the rod and jumped in front of Ardyn. “Sir, we need to get out of here!” 

“It will not get out.” Besithia insisted.

The M.T’s in the room moved closer to the holding. The creature banged against the glass, the glass cracked. Besithia began to head towards the door while Ellie tried pulling her chuckling chancellor employer away. “Sir!” she tugged at his coat. “We need to get you out of here!” 

As Besithia pulled the door closed behind him, it locked with a click. Ellie’s eyes widened and she ran to the door, she tried to open it and when it didn’t budge, she smacked it with the pole. “OPEN IT!!” she cried. “Chancellor Izunia is inside, OPEN THE DOOR!!” she helplessly banged on the door. At the same time the daemon broke the glass, shards were sent flying at them and the daemon, with a roar, jumped out of it’s prison.

Ellie turned, her eyes wide and full of terror. She had never fought a daemon before, she had never even seen on in person before. She watched, frozen in place as the daemon lifted it’s monstrous claw to attach Ardyn. She clutched at the rod and charged, she pushed her employer out of the way and struck the pole at the beast. The pole did very little damage, but it was enough to draw it’s attention away from Ardyn, and onto her. She readied the pole and moved for another strike. Her inexperience proved to be her downfall as the creature let out a sound and struck at her. It’s claws flinging her into a nearby wall, as the back of her head hit the wall, her world went black.

 

X

 

“Ellie, time to wake up.” her world was a spinning motion of red as she awoke. She felt arms holding her but all she could see were spinning colours, mainly red, but also whites of what could have been the room she was in. 

She resisted the urge to vomit and closed her eyes. After a few moments her eyes opened again and she was at least able to see who was holding her, even if there was currently two of them. “A-Ardyn...” she jumped out of his arms as she remembered what had happened. “The monster! S-Sir, ugh….” she fell back into his arms, there was two of everything. She closed her eyes.

She felt him chuckle, his hand squeezed her shoulder. “It is dead. I killed it.” he brushed hair out of her face.

She opened her eyes again. Her head was pounding and she couldn’t glance at the light but she could at least look at Ardyn now without seeing two of him. “I’m sorry, I was p-pretty u-useless then...” she closed her eyes, she wanted to go back to sleep. She didn’t want to think of her embarrassment, how stupid was she to think that she could fight a daemon with a steel pole? 

A hand stroked her cheek. “You did not need to put yourself in danger to save me.” his voice was quiet, thoughtful and filled with something else that she could not name.

Ellie opened her eyes and they locked with his. She could see something in them that she could not name, it was as though he was looking at her in a new light, but also remembering some painful memory. It caused something in her chest to pulse. She reached a shaky hand up to his cheek. “Sir, I will always endeavour to protect you. I will always stand with you...” before she could stop herself she clutched a hand into his hair and pulled herself up, her lips pushed against his.

He froze, his body went rigid and she panicked as she realised what she was doing. Then suddenly she felt herself being pulled closer. A hand cradled her head while an arm snaked around her waist and pulled her to him. She felt herself moan against his lips and he took it as an opportunity to deepen the kiss. She clutched at him as he seemed to devour her, he was hot and hard, yet gentle at the same time. She briefly wondered about the people that may be in the room with them, but as he shifted position, causing their crotches to touch she clutched at him harder and focused on the feelings, the  _ rightness  _ of it all.

_ They say that first kisses leave a lasting impression, and this kiss would always stay with her, would always hold a special place in her heart. _

 


	5. Of Pillows and Talking

Chapter Five

 

Of Pillows and Talking

 

Ellie frowned as she took notes on the daemon in the cage before her. It had taken time, but she had eventually gotten the courage to go near the things- after what had happened, one could hardly blame her though. She frowned. It had been three days, _three days_ , since the events of lab. Since the daemon… since, the kiss… she shook her head and took down some more notes. The kiss had been wonderful, more than wonderful, it had been _amazing._ It wasn’t her first kiss, but it was so much better than any of her ‘make-out’ sessions had been when she was a teenager. 

However, her teenage years had made one thing simpler, when she had finished kissing them, they usually had to flee as her uncle would catch them, leaving any uncomfortable conversations and aftermath almost non-existent. With Ardyn however, she didn’t have, or want, that option. No instead she actually wanted to have a conversation about what had happened, she wanted to  _talk_ or  _anything_ with him. Instead, after the kiss he had sent her to the infirmary to get checked up and then he had left. She had seen him again the next day when she had been released and he had assigned her the task of researching the creatures, she had barely seen him since!

She watched as they creature stepped towards her, the UV lights activated causing the creature to shriek as it burned, it flinched back. Apparently the incident had caused them to up the security, at least some good had come form her being hurt. She made about the UV burns on the creature and wondered what she was doing. They had been researching the daemon’s much longer than she had, so why would he ask her to take notes on them? From what she could see, their main weakness was sunlight, which wasn’t helpful since they came out at night. UV lights attached to weapons perhaps? UV pulse weapons?

She sighed, she really did not see the point of her doing this. She tapped her pen against her chin. She wondered how much longer he would have her do this, it was pointless, she wasn’t going to learn anything new. They knew more than she could ever hope to about the creatures. What was Ardyn’s game? What was he trying to gain from her? She wanted to talk to him, for many reasons

“Besithia did it.” She heard a hushed voice.

She paused. Besithia did  _ what? _ She crept around the corner of the cages to an obscure part of the room. She saw two researchers leaned over the a desk looking through a microscope and reading over notes. She took a quick glance around the room before she leaned against the wall to listen in.

“Of course he did.” the other researcher replied. “He’s been weird, weird _ er _ , lately.”

She heard the other researcher snort. “He’s always weird… like creepy weird..” she looked around the wall to see them still in their position. She took another quick glance around before continuing to listen.

“Something feels like he… he  _ wants _ us to be eaten… or turned into daemons...” the researcher made a sound of displeasure.

“Well he certainly wanted it to happen to the Chancellor’s assistant, whatever  _ it  _ was.” 

“Yeah… but there’s always a chance that he’ll do it to us too...”

Ellie’s eyes widened. If what she was hearing was correct, then Besithia had tried to kill her, could possibly try to do it to others. Why? What reasons could he have for that? Surely he had the support of the Empire, so what would prompt such an action? Had she wronged him in some way that he felt the need to release a daemon on her? Her blood ran cold, perhaps it wasn’t her, perhaps he was trying to harm Ardyn? Her heart palpitated and she found herself fleeing the room in search of her employer. She would not be able to live with herself if he had died and she had not done anything to stop it.

She shoved past the M.T’s guarding the door and ran down the hallway in search of him. She knew this place from her childhood as well as the last few days that she had been there, but even with her familiarity with the place, she still was not sure where he could be. He could literally be anywhere. She searched one room and was met with researchers and more daemon’s. Another room was empty, save for some desks and folders. The next room turned out to be a lavish dining room, why they needed one of those was beyond her. 

‘Is that roast chocobo?’ she thought to herself as she stared at the food displayed on the table. After a few moments she shook herself and left the room- she didn’t have the capacity to think about why there would be a feast set up in a facility like this. For Besithia perhaps? At the thought of Besithia she turned heel and fled back down the hallway. She searched another two rooms before she opened the third and came to a halt at the sound of her name.

“Miss Tummelt.”

She froze. Her wide eyes glanced around the Daemon research room until they settled on Verstael Besithia. Her heart stopped. She wanted to flee, but knew that she would be silly, even if her suspicions were correct, she couldn’t just flee at the sight of him- it would be suspicious! She needed to talk to Ardyn first, ensure that he hadn’t been fed to a daemon.

“Yes, Sir?” she said evenly. 

He smiled widely at her. “How are you feeling? You seem… well, you sustained injuries,” he stepped closer to her and looked her up and down as though examining a subject- she felt like one as well. “are any injuries bothering you? Such a  _ tragedy _ that it had to happen.” the older man raised a brow as he locked eyes with her.

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The older man had always made her unsettled, the feeling was worse now. “I am feeling better now, thank you sir.” she gave him a light bow. 

He made a sound before turning to go back to his work. She took it as a dismissal but she still needed to know something, she cleared her throat to gain his attention. “Sir, If I may ask,” she paused and he nodded in admission. “would you know where the Chancellor is?”

Something in his eyes gleaned at her question. “Lost him have you?” he chuckled.

She inwardly blanched but she remained her composure, she didn’t say anything and continued to watch him. He made her skin crawl. She watched as he reached over and plucked a note pad from the table, he read over the notes for a few moments. She felt her lips tighten, he was toying with her. She would not let him get to her.

“I, have not seen him, dear girl.” he smiled widely.

She nodded and bowed again. “I thank you.” she turned to leave.

“Do look after yourself, dear girl.” the humour in his voice was evident and his chuckle followed her down the hall.

She clutched at her notebook as she scurried through the halls. She tried their shared ‘office’ again and was disappointed when he wasn’t there. She left the room and found herself walking into the lunch room. She placed her notebook on the table and walked over to the vending machine. A smile tugged at her lips as she thought about all of the times that she had met him here. Her childhood, life was simpler then.

Her stomach rumbled, all that running around had made her hungrier than she thought. She reached into her pocket and pulled out some gil. She wondered if she could finally get this right. She reached over and pushed the gil into the slot. She picked what she wanted and waited as the item began to move towards the front. It moved. It moved. It stopped. She bit her bottom lip and her eyes went wide with rage, she  _ knew  _ that it would happen and she still wasted her money. She hit the machine. 

“Piece of shit!” she growled and hit it again.

“I hear tell that you wanted to see me?” she jumped and turned to see Ardyn leaning casually against the door frame. His eyes glinted humorously as he took in the sight before him. He pushed himself from the frame and stepped towards her. “Is this why? Do you  _ need  _ help?” 

He was teasing her. “Sir, I wanted to talk to you, I need to make a report, it’s important.”

He patted her head and smiled at her, he then hit the machine and smiled as the food dropped into the compartment. He picked it up and held it out to her. “It can wait until we get home.” he said simply in response to her words.

“But Sir!” she protested, but stopped when he ‘shhed’ her. She stared up at him with wide eyes.

“It can wait.” he said simply and put a hand on her shoulder. “Now go pack our things, I have a meeting with our friend Besithia, then you’re driving us home.” he winked at her and walked away. 

She held the crisp packet in her hands and stared at the spot where he once stood.

 

X

 

Elise sighed as the wind whipped through her hair. She had been against driving this close to nightfall, especially after what had happened to her. But Ardyn had wanted to leave and she while she had protested, she had given in to his demands- she always did. She glanced at the Chancellor, her eyes softened. He was sleeping, his hat was clutched in his lap and his head was leaned back into the car seat. He looked so at peace when he was sleeping, as though nothing were nothing to give him worries in the world, she liked seeing him like this.

She looked back at the road, it was getting darker, but so far she had yet to see any daemons, which was good. She glanced back at Ardyn, he twitched in his sleep, she looked back at the road. She had tried to make her report while they drove but he had complained about being tired and wanting sleep and that anything she had to say could wait- he had ‘promised’ that he would listen to her over some coffee, or wine, the moment they got home. 

She wasn’t sure she believed him.

“Aera...” she heard him mumble in his sleep, she looked at him and frowned at the pained expression on his face. She looked back at the road while she reached out to touch his shoulder. She wanted to offer some comfort, anything. He seemed to respond instantly and leaned his cheek onto her hand.

“I’ll get you home Sir.” she breathed looking out at the road.

 

XXX

 

Ellie sighed and rubbed the shampoo through her hair. Once they had gotten back to the house she had tried to give her report, only to be told to ‘take some time for herself’, to say that she was frustrated would be an understatement. She grumbled and reached for the conditioner. The man frustrated her! Why did he have to make this so difficult, all she wanted to do was warn him about the possible risk to his health, only to have the man continue to put her off. She rinsed the conditioner out of her hair. She sighed again and leaned against the tiles, she enjoyed the feeling of the hot water against her spine, she closed her eyes, she was so tired… she jolted against the tile and stood straight, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for her to fall asleep in the shower.

She stayed in for another few minutes before switching the shower off and wrapping her towel around her head and another around her body. She checked herself in the mirror, she looked tired, her face was pale, even after her shower, and her under eyes were dark. She needed a sleep. She frowned, she had to make her report first, sleep could come later. She shook her head and walked into her bedroom.

“This is  _ positively  _ sinful.” she jumped at the sound of Ardyn’s voice. She looked at her bed to find him sprawled out on it. He was wearing a simple shirt and his pants, in his hands was a book. One of  _ her  _ books.

“I...I… sir?” she gasped, her mouth opening and closing in shock.

He adjusted a pair of reading glasses he was wearing- had she ever seen them before?- and cleared his throat. “ _ he leaned forwards to nip at his throat before he pulled back, the crop raised in his hand, the youth cried out as the stick smacked against his pale flesh. He cried out in pain but his ‘member’ showed just how much he enjoyed it, it strained, clear beads leaking from the tip. _ ” he held the book away from him and clutched a hand against his chest. “How indecent! My poor fragile mind has been damaged, my poor innocent eyes!”

A small part of her blanched at the idea that his mind had been damaged, but it was overwhelmed by the shock, horror and embarrassment at the situation. Pushing the fact that he was in her room aside, the fact that he had found one of her books. She wished that the world would swallow her whole, she wished that the daemon had eaten her. She opened her mouth but no sound came out, she was frozen to the spot her body shook.

He flipped ahead several pages and Ellie felt her heart palpitate, god she hoped he didn’t read page two hundred and fifty-one. “I came here to check on you and listen to your report, and instead, I find this  _ novel _ .” his eyes scanned over the two pages he had open and his brows raised. “Oh Ellie,” he glanced up at her. “sweet  _ innocent _ Ellie.”

He was taunting her, she knew it. She should have demanded that he leave, put the book down and respect her privacy, but she couldn’t find her words, the mortification was too much. “S-sir… I...” she fumbled for words, but nothing came. 

“How familiar are you with this book, how many times have you read it?” her silence told him everything that he needed to know. “What about these pages?” he turned the book to her and her heart sank as she saw the numbers, two hundred and fifty-one.

“Sir! Please, put it away!” she started. “It’s-” she cut herself off, unable to finish her sentence.

His eyes gleamed humorously. “It’s what?” he chuckled. “Tell me what happens on the page.”

“Sir-” she began to protest but he cut her off.

“That’s an order Dear Ellie.”

She froze. He hadn’t wanted her report, but he wanted her to tell him what he had just read. Why? “Sir, please… this is...”

“Now Ellie.”

She sighed and eyed him. She wasn’t sure how to deal with this, this was an Ardyn that she had never seen before. He had always been a teasing personality to her, but he had never been mean, demeaning or cruel to her, and currently this is what it felt like to her. “The detective...” she began shakily. “He puts a collar,” she shifted uncomfortably, god she wished that she was wearing something other than a towel. “around the prisoner’s neck, and he, and he t-takes him outside and...” she felt her face flush and she turned her head, unable to look into his eyes. “Sir please, this is...inappropriate...”

She heard him pull himself from her bed and step towards her. Fingers grasped her chin and tilted her face to look at him. His amber eyes gleamed with something that she could not name. His thumb brushed circles along her cheek. “tell me.” he said gently.

“He walks him around the yard like a dog, before he has… sex… with him on the grass...” Her voice was quiet, but she found herself unable to stop herself unable to stop herself from answering him, something about the look in his eyes compelled her to answer.

“Absolutely sinful...” he murmured and then his lips were on hers, soft, gentle, but firm.

She froze unable to register what was happening. He was kissing her, why was he kissing her? Was this a continuation from what had happened in the research facility- his hand tugged her towel away and buried his fingers in her wet hair, while at the same time his tongue probed at her lips and she lost all thoughts except those of him. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, her movement caused the towel around her body to slip and fall to the floor. 

She shivered and moved to pull away, to cover herself, but he clutched tighter at her. He gripped her hips and pushed them against his. She gasped against his lips and closing her eye, she plunged a hand into his red locks, holding tightly to the hair. He let out a sound at the action, and suddenly she felt herself being lifted his hands grasping her thighs and her legs instinctively wrapped around his hips. 

He chuckled against her lips at her actions and moved them. She felt her back press against something hard and cold, she quickly realised that it was the wall. His lips moved from her neck and trailed down her cheek to her neck. She leaned her head back and allowed him access. He chuckled again and bit down against her neck, while he rocked his hips against hers. She cried out and rocked against him.

“Shall I stop?” he murmured against her neck, he nipped at the skin.

She blearily opened her eyes and looked down at him, his amber eyes gleaned up at her from her neck. “W-wha?”

He chucked and rocked his hips, she whimpered and clenched her hands his hair. “Speechless my Dear?” he rocked again and a hand slid down across her buttocks and towards her core, a finger traced her core sending shivers through her body. “Shall I stop? Shall I let you rest?” he moved to pull away.

“Sir!” she gasped, her thighs tightening around him. “P-please...”

He lifted his head, his eyes locking with hers. “Please what Dear Ellie.”

“Please don’t...” her cheeks reddened. “Please don’t stop Sir.”

His grin turned feral.

 

X

 

Ellie laid curled against his side. She was sore, in many places, but the good kind of sore. She had never imagined that it would be like that, she had never had sex before- she had fooled around in her teenage years, but nothing had ever come from her fooling around, either they would be interrupted by her uncle or some other cause, usually her uncle though. So sex had been something that she had always wanted, but had never had the chance before, until now…

Her cheeks reddened and she buried herself closer into his chest. She could hardly believe that she had done it, with Ardyn of all people! She wondered what would happen from here, would this change her relationship with him? She inwardly snorted, of course it would, she had slept with him! She had finally done what the rest of the Empire believed her to be doing. She squeezed her eyes shut as memories from a few hours ago flowed through her mind. It had been  _ amazing,  _ she had no words to describe how incredible it had been. Ardyn was… he liked being in charge and he knew what he wanted, and that suited her. She liked how he had given orders and had put her in all sorts of positions.

“You had a report to give, Dear Ellie?” 

She jumped at the sound of his voice. She looked up from his chest, he was looking down at her with relaxed eyes. He smiled at her and she felt herself smiling back. ‘ _ Now _ he want’s his report.’ she thought with a wryly grin. She reached up and brushed some hair out of his face, before she placed her head beside his on the pillow and proceeded to give her report, when she was done, she was surprised to find him chuckling.

“Sir?” she asked with confusion.

“Dear Ellie,” He patted her head. “I know. Besithia is ambitious as he is cunning, I know all about his plans.” he ran fingers through her hair and his other hand drew circles on one of her breasts.

She stared at him with wide eyes, while also shivering at his touch. “You… know? Do you mean to do anything about it?! He is a danger to us, he-” she gasped as he pinched her nipple. Hard.

“You don’t need to worry about it, Dear Ellie.” he said calmly. When she went to protest, he pinched her again. “Do not think about it.” he grinned. “Everything is as it should be.”

She frowned at that. She could accept that perhaps he knew what was going on, but to say that it was alright, that it was as it should be, was in her opinion, not the response that he should be giving. If Besithia was doing dangerous experiments with the daemons, then shouldn’t they be reporting it? Her eyes widened, unless they were aware of it, what if the Emperor knew and was  _ allowing  _ it to happen. What would this mean for the Empire.

“Dear Ellie, do stop worrying about it.” she looked back at her employer with a raised brow, causing him to frown. “Just think about this,” a hand slid down her chest towards her abdomen, he then grinned a toothy grin. “And all the fun we’re going to have!”

_ She could certainly do that... _


	6. Insomnia

Chapter Six

 

Insomnia

 

 

Ellie grinned to herself while she fried some eggs. She hummed to herself and swayed her body in motion with her humming, her movements caused her to flinch lightly while she moved. She was sore. She was sore almost everywhere. It had been just over a year since she had begun her physical relationship with Ardyn, which meant that most days she was feeling the after pains. Even if they only had relations a few times a week, she still felt it- _he_ would do things to ensure that she always felt it, always felt the reminders of him. 

She glanced down at the eggs, they weren’t ready. She frowned and added some seasoning before moving away from the stove-top to prepare the plates and everything else quickly. Every bend, every movement caused her to wince. She smiled wryly, if she were to roll up the sleeves of her dress shirt, or even pull her black tights off, many of the bruises covering her body would be visible. A reason why she had taken to wearing long shirts and the tights under her skirt. She set the plates before turning back to the food, it was ready. With a smile she pulled the pan from the heat and slid the eggs onto the two plates. The toaster then popped which completed the breakfast.

“Good morning Elise.” Ellie glanced up to see Mabel walking into the room.

“Morning.” she nodded and reached for the salt and pepper.

“You know dear...” Mabel began, while opening the refrigerator. “I’m glad that you’re here with us.” 

Ellie paused and raised a brow. Just  _where_ was the older woman going with this?

Mabel pulled out the jug of juice and put it on the bench before reaching for the glass cabinet. Up high, where Ardyn liked it. Ellie frowned as the older woman struggled to reach for the glass, before Mabel went to get her little stool, Ellie walked over and grabbed one for her. Mabel accepted the glass gratefully and went about pouring herself a glass.

“Thank you dear, I’m getting older and it’s getting harder to reach the high things...” she took a drink.

Ellie nodded, she would have to talk to Ardyn about this. If Mabel and Rupert were going to stay on working in the house, then they really needed to be able to reach the drinking utensils, and other miscellaneous items. She eyed the older woman, these past few years she had really gotten to care for Mabel. Rupert too, when you lived in this mansion with Ardyn, you needed other company before the Chancellor drove you mad, she was glad for Rupert and Mabel.

“Anyway...” Mabel carried on. “You’ve really shined Elise, when you first started I didn’t think that you were that much chop...” she shook her head before looking up at Ellie with bright eyes. “but you’ve proved yourself, time and time again… to both myself and Rupert, but also the Chancellor. You have...” she cut herself before she waved her hand dismissively. “never mind dear, just know that I’m glad to have met you.”

Ellie’s eyes widened, why was Mabel talking like this? If she didn’t know better, she would have assumed that Mabel was going to die or something, but that couldn’t be it, could it? “Mabel… thank you… but..” she tried to voice her concerns only have Mabel waved her silent.

“Don’t fret about it Elise, now run along, before the Chancellor’s food goes cold.” she nodded to the food trays before she left the room.

Elise watched her retreating back with sad eyes. Something was wrong, that could be the only explanation for her words. However, she also understood that Mabel  _was_ not as young as she once was, perhaps she was simply saying what she wanted to before it was too late? The idea made her eyes water, she would have to do something nice for Mabel, something to show how much she cared,

 

X

 

“Breakfast in bed sir,” she called out to him while she shimmied into the room. In her hands was the tray so she used her elbow to flick on the lights causing him to groan and rub at his eyes, which in turn, caused her to let out a chuckle.

“I ought to fire you,” he grumbled while he rubbed his eyes and he twisted in the bed. “laughing at your employer… such cheek.” he pulled himself up to sit in the bed and looked at her with bleary eyes. “Is that earl grey tea?” he pulled his hands away from his puffy eyes. “and toast?”

Ellie smiled and walked towards him. He was positively adorable first thing in the morning. She placed the tray in his lap before walking to the other side of his bed and sat on the edge. She took her plate from the tray and looked around the room. Even after all the times she had been in the room, she was still struck by how _normal_ it looked, how _cosy_ it was. There was no space on the walls, they were covered in book cases and paintings of landscapes. In one corner was a fireplace with some chairs and a coffee table, it looked like a place where one could sit and read.

She nibbled on her toast while she watched him cradle his tea. She loved that she was able to see this side of him, he was so peaceful, so _different_ , in the mornings. It was as though he were someone else, she had the impression of him in another time and another place when he was this relaxed. She was glad that she was privy to him like this, it made her feel special- not in a romantic sense, special that he was comfortable enough with her to show him this side of himself. They ate their breakfast in silence, the only sounds were that of their chewing and some birds who had decided to sing by his window.

“Sir,” Ellie said as she pulled herself from the bed and began to collect the plates and the tray. “We’re leaving for the peace meeting soon?” she lifted the tray and took it to the coffee table so that she could take it with her when she left the room.

Ardyn raised his arms and arched his back in a stretch. “Hmm… yes My Dear...” he rolled his head around and closed his eyes as he moved for another stretch. “We’ll drive to the capital and from there we’ll take an airship to Gauldin Quay where we’ll be staying while the Emperor does business with Insomnia.”

“I see,” Ellie leaned on one leg while she took in his words. “It will be nice… the peace, I mean, I cannot wait for the fighting to be over.”

“Dear Ellie.” he smiled serenely at her. “Make sure you are ready.” he looked her up and down, his eyes glittered and he held a hand out to her, she took it and he tugged causing her to let out a small yelp and fall to the bed. She braced her hands on the bed at each sides of his hips, her waist between his legs and precariously close to his hips.

“I-I, I will be sir.” she trembled lightly as he touched her back, his fingers trailing up and down her spine.

He made a sound a his lips twitched. His fingers slid down towards the hem of her skirt and slid along the edge, his fingers inching upwards hinting at sliding upwards before they moved away. She trembled at his actions and her hips moved of their own accord in a feeble attempt at coaxing his hand into moving up. She felt him shake in silent laughter and his hand slid away and moved to her neck.

“S-Sir...” she gasped, her eyes slipped shut and her hips moved impatiently.

“Ellie.” his voice washed over her smoothly and her body trembled. She leaned into the touch on her neck and put her weight onto her right hand so that she could reach her left up to bury itself in his red curls. She bit back a moan, she loved the feeling of his hair, it was so soft, so wonderful, she could lose herself in it for hours. She felt him grin against her lips as his hands moved to clutch at her rear.

“S-sir...” she gasped out, her neck arching back.

He kneaded the flesh before flipping their positions, causing her to let out a shriek. He grasped her hands and pinned them above her head. “Now Dear girl,” he reached to his bedside table and pulled out some leather ties. “I've had breakfast, and now I'd like my morning...” He paused and she felt her arms being tied to the headboard. “ _Yoga..._ ”

She resisted the urge to snort and roll her eyes. For some reason the morning sex was now 'Yoga', she wasn't quite sure how it the name had started, but it had and now it had stuck. Although, she gave a wrly grin, it almost was like yoga most mornings. She tried to move her hands, the ties held strong and she let out a sigh as lips decended on his neck. Nimble fingers flicked the buttons of her shirt and she gasped as the fabric was pulled away and cold air hit her chest.

She felt him grin against her neck as his fingers grazed her sides before a palm cupped her clothed breast. Her head fell back into the pillow with a gasp, warm lips slid from her neck downwards to her chest. Sucking hard he bit down, creating a mark.

She moaned in response and he went still, she paused and turned to him questioningly he leaned up and pressed his lips against her ear, he then whispered something into her ear. She tilted her head to him and kissed his cheek in response before nodding. He turned to her and they locked eyes briefly before he moved back down her body and took a clothed nipple into his mouth, nipping gently.

Ellie let out a gasp and at the same time there was a rap at the door. Her eyes went wide and she lifted her head to look down at him. “S-Sir...?” she breathed, trying to be a quiet as she could.

He made no indication that he heard her and continued nipping his way across her chest.

“Sir,” Rupert's voice came from behind the door. “There's a man on the telephone for you.”

She felt him grin against her breast, his hair obscured her view of his face but she could feel, and visualise his feral toothy grin. “S-Sir, we need to stop.” she hissed under her breath, the last thing that she needed was for Rupert to hear, or _see_ what was happening.

He lifted his head from her chest and she felt herself let out a sigh of relief. This was very short lived as she saw the gleam in his eyes. _Oh no._ She pulled at the ties holding her hands, it was no good, they held strong. “Sir!” she hissed again through clenched teeth.

“Who is it Rupert?” Ardyn asked casually, not at all alluding to the fact that his fingers were now undoing her belt, the button and the zip to her skirt.

“It's Verstael Bethisia, Sir.”

Ardyn pulled the skirt from her legs and threw them to the side before fingering the edge of her panties. “Oh? And what does he want?” he pulled the black silk from her body and twirled it around on one of his fingers, his brow raised and his eyes glittering as he looked down at her.

She flushed and sent him a withering glare. It held none of the fire that it should have however, and only served to add to his amusement.

“He wishes to discuss some things with you before you leave for Insomnia.” as Rupert talked Ardyn leaned down between her thighs, his grin widening further. He turned his head and nipped at the creamy flesh of her thigh. She let out a gasp and her legs tensed as his burgundy hair tickled at her skin. She could feel his feral grin as he turned his head to pay attention to the other thigh. She flinched and tried to move, only to feel his hands hold her down. She bit back another sound, a moan or a growl she wasn't sure which, but it caused him to laugh, his silent chuckle breathing against her.

“Does he now?” Ardyn replied with amusement. He lifted himself from between her thighs and looked down at her with glittering eyes.

Her lips tightened before she bit her lips as his fingers grasped the elastic of her panties. She knew that she should say something to him. Something to make him stop, but she couldn't and she felt herself pulse as the lacy item was pulled down her legs. She opened her mouth to say something, but slammed It shut again as Rupert spoke.

“Sir, how long do you want me to tell him that you'll be?” Rupert's voice flowed through the door.

Ardyn's fingers slid across her thigh and upwards towards her core. She let out a silent gasp and her hips thrust upwards, in an attempt to create some friction. He seemed to ignore her plight and his fingers made lazy circles around her bikini line.

“Hmm, he _could wait_ for thirty minutes,” Ardyn leaned down towards her folds. “he could also wait an hour, who knows?” his breath fanned against her, causing her to twitch. “It all depends on how I feel.” he chuckled.

Ellie felt her eyes widen at his words. He intended to keep her this way for over half an hour? That really should not have surprised her, she had known him long enough, _had been sleeping_ with him for long enough to know his ticks. She resisted the urge to scowl at him, it wouldn't do her any good anyway, it would only serve to amuse him further.

“Shall I find young Elise to discuss the issue with him?” Rupert suggested from behind the door. “He may be more willing to talk to her than myself.” he added, almost as an afterthought.

Hot lips pressed against the skin close to her folds and he let out a girlish giggle. “You certainly can,” she bit back a gasp as he tongue touched her folds, a gasp escaped her lips as he pulled back. “If you can find her, she's been somewhat _absent_ this morning.” Her answering scowl turned into an eyes closed gasp as he returned to his attentions.

Rupert made a sound. “Of course she has disappeared.” she could picture him folding his arms in front of him and rolling his eyes. “Most days she is wonderful, Sir, but others...” she could picture him shaking his head, not that her ability to picture him was sound at the current moment. She bit her lip and pulled at the binds, she wanted to clutch at him hair damn it. “Anyway sir,” he continued. “I shall endeavour to find the girl as well as pass on your message.”

“You do that.” Ardyn pulled away to look down at the flushed girl before him. The grin on his face seemed to grow exponentially. His finger slid between her folds, moving slowly as she twitched and let out a moan. His smirk widened, his teeth flashing brightly. “Well Dear Girl, it seems that I am needed.” his fingers stilled.

She groaned and cracked open her eyes to look up at him. “Sir?”

“We'll have to continue this later, My Dear.” he pulled his fingers away causing her to groan.

She watched with wide eyes as he pulled himself up to stand and looked down at her, his hand moved to his chin thoughtfully as he looked her up and down. “Such a _shame_.” he tutted before turning to leave.

“Sir!?” she called out in panic.

His laughs followed him as he walked into his en-suit.

“S-Sir!?” she tugged at the binds holding her hands, they held strong.

The sound of the shower running could be heard.

“Sir!” she called out before catching herself. The _last_ thing that she needed was Rupert or Mabel come and discover her in this position on the Chancellor's bed- or any position on his bed really. She tugged fruitlessly again before letting out a sigh. She was going to have to wait it out, apparently. She scowled as her core nagged her, _demanded,_ that she finish what he started. She let out a long sigh and frowned as the sound of him humming happily flowed through the room. She felt her lips tighten. _It was going to be a long wait..._

She woke with a start at the feeling of a hand stroking her cheek. She let out a snort and her hand moved to cover her mouth as she started to cough. _Wait, her hand?_ She lifted her hands so that she could look at them. There was a red mark on each wrist from the binds, but that didn't really matter as they were free. She rubbed the red skin briefly before stilling as she heard a chuckle.

She slowly turned her head to see Ardyn lying beside her, his face resting in the palm of his hand and his elbow pushed into his pillow. It was then that she took note of her position; she was still on Ardyn's bed with him lying beside her watching her.

“Did you have a nice nap?” he asked quietly. He pushed some of her hair- that must have come loose from her tie- behind her ear. She leaned into the touch and smiled lightly as his hand moved to grasp one of her wrists. He kissed the red mark on her wrist before moving to the other one.

“Yes, it was.” she smiled at him shivered before stretching. “Though I would appreciate it if I wasn't left hanging next time.”

He chuckled at the double meaning of her words. “I'm _sorry_ , Dear Ellie.” he looked her up and down. “Shall I make it up to you?”

As she opened her mouth to reply, there was a knock on the door. “Sorry to disturb you Sir,” Rupert's voice flowed into the room, causing her to let out a low groan. “but, Verstael Besithia is still waiting on the telephone, and I have yet to locate Elise.”

Ardyn leaned down to pressed a kiss to her forehead before ruffling her hair. “Well time to get going, we have a long day ahead!”

 

_What he had whispered into her ear was their, word, a 'safe word' a special word that had yet to be used for it's purpose._

 

X

 

Elise ignored the suspicious look from Rupert as she loaded their suitcases into Ardyn's car. The man travelled surprisingly lightly, he had only one case that was not that large, in comparison to her suitcases, it was strange, given his personality. She closed the boot of the car and pulled out her notepad from her blazer's inner pocket. Flipping the pages to a checklist she ticked the box labelled 'pack suitcases in car'.

“Take care of yourself Elise,” she turned to see Mabel walking towards her. “And,” she smiled humbly, knowingly. “look after the Chancellor as well.”

“I shall take care of him.” Ellie replied, at the sound of his voice she looked up to see him saying something to Rupert, she smiled. “Always.”

Mabel patted her on the arm before nodding and returning to Rupert, where she said something to Ardyn. Ardyn let out a laugh at whatever she said. He gave a light wave and walked over to the car, he opened the passenger door and climbed in. “Are you ready?” he asked.

She waved to Mabel and Rupert while she walked to the drivers side, she climbed inside and started the ignition. “Shall we go Sir?”

“Onward, Dear Ellie!”

 

X

 

To get to Insomnia, they first had to ride in an airship, where they would be dropped off by Gauldin Quay, where they would stay the night before heading to the capital. The ride to Gauldin was a long one, and Ellie found herself cleaning the car and sorting through the paperwork while she waited. She was however, quickly getting bored and there was only so many times that she could walk up and down the steel bunker where the car was being stored- she would have discussed things with Ardyn, but the Chancellor had gone off to 'make a phone call' and had yet to return.

Another hour of 'pottering around', which included double checking their inventory and looking over the various machines that were stored alongside the car, and Ellie was thoroughly bored. The car was clean, and there was only so many times that she could re-read the report on the situation on the war. It was then that she heard a familiar voice. Her eyes widened and she turned to see her cousin barking orders at an M.T.

“Watch it!” he crossed his arms and pointed to battle machine. “This is my baby, if you break it, I'll break you!”

There was something comforting about hearing his voice, even if he was shouting at someone. She felt her legs moving her in the direction of her cousin. “Loqi!” she called out. He jumped and before he had a chance to react, she was enveloping him in a hug. “I've missed you!” she squeezed him.

He spluttered at her and attempted to dislodge her briefly, and when it seemed as though she was not going to let go he awkwardly patted her back. “Would you kindly let go of me Elise?” he said after some time.

She reluctantly pulled back and looked at him. He was dressed in his armour and looked every bit the soldier that he wanted to be- the soldier that his father had been. She frowned at the thought of her uncle. “How have you been?” she wanted to ask about her uncle but held back.

He grinned. “I have been well, I'm ready to go out and fight, I want to prove myself better than Cor!”

She let out a gush of air in laughter at his words. Loqi, ever the gloater. It was then that his words hit her, what did he mean, fight? Weren't they going to Insomnia for the peace treaty? They weren't there to fight? There was going to be a wedding and then the war was going to be over. She eyed her cousin and decided to voice her questions. “What do you mean? I thought that we were there to sign peace treaties and end the war?” she felt her chest pulse in panic.

Loqi tilted his head and eyed her with a deep frown. He seemed to be assessing his thoughts and crossed his arms across his chest. “Elise...” he began, quietly, too quiet for Loqi.

“Dear Ellie!” Ardyn's voice chimed as he walked out from behind some Magitek armour. “Do get the car ready, we shall be arriving at our destination momentarily!” he then proceeded to practically skip away to the car.

Ellie gave a wryly smile, _he was certainly in a good mood._ She turned back to Loqi and found him staring at her with a strange expression. “Take care, Elise.” he made no motion to say any more, gave her a nod and then left, presumably to look over the Magitek.

“Take care...” she said quietly, unease taking her as she turned to return to the Chancellor.

 

_The war was ending, wasn't it?_

 

X

 

Ellie _hated_ driving the car out of airships. It was jumpy, frustrating and steep. She had done it enough times that she was confident in her ability to do it, but it was just one of those things that frustrated her to no end. It did not help that Ardyn would giggle at her through the ordeal. She had the distinct impression that he enjoyed her suffering. Not that it was an 'impression' per say, it was pretty damn obvious that he was taking pleasure in her suffering.

“Nearly there..” she said through tight lips. She moved the car slowly and once it was off the ramp and rolling onto the road, she let out a sigh and sunk back into the chair. All of the tension in her back washing away. She took a glance at her GPS, it would take them two minutes to arrive at Gauldin. She eased her foot onto the accelerator and headed in the direction her phone told her to.

“ _Well done,_ Ellie.”

She didn't need to look at him, she could hear his amusement at her. She stuck her tongue out at him and focused on the road, it was getting late, they would need to stay the night at the hotel, before heading out to Insomnia in the morning.

At the thought of Insomnia she frowned. Her understanding was that the war was over and that they were here to end it. The Marriage of Noctis and Lunafreya sealing the deal, but her gut... her gut was telling her something else. She _felt_ that this was the beginning and that it was only going to get worse from here. Loqi's behaviour to her had not helped abate her feelings, instead it had made her worry more.

“You might want to turn here.” Ardyn's voice cut through her musings and caused her to jump.

That was much quicker than she had thought. She turned the car and went about finding a park. Once parked she let out a sigh and clicked her seat belt off. She pulled herself out of the car and went about taking out two of the three suitcases, his small one and the smaller of her two, they were only staying for one night after all. Lifting the cases she turned to look for Ardyn, at first she thought that he had wandered off to the hotel, but a after a long scan of the surroundings, she found him standing on the beach looking out at the sunset. She locked the car and, while carrying the luggage, she headed out to him.

Standing beside him, she said nothing, just watched him as he stared out at the blue and red expanse that was the sun setting against the ocean. His amber eyes seemed to glow as they reflected the red sky, and his hair contrasted from bright to dark he looked... beautiful. She wanted to reach out and touch him, her fingers and her stomach urging her to follow her desires, but she held herself back. It felt wrong to disturb him. So instead she simply watched as he was bathed in the light.

“Go... check in,” he said after a few minutes. “I will join you soon Dear Ellie.”

“Alright sir.” she replied quietly before turning and leaving, though her footsteps were heavy.

 

X

 

Their evening in their room was quite typical of nights that they spent away from the manor. He would keep her up for hours and cause her to make sounds that, would have gotten them kicked out were they anyone else, he seemed to take amusement in making her as loud as he could. When he had finally allowed her to sleep, he had slept like a baby while she had had a troubled sleep. As tired as she was, she could not get the worry from her chest.

By morning she was grey and her tiredness showed. She could have attempted to sleep again, Ardyn would not be awake for at least another three hours, but there was no point. She would just have to live on coffee and painkillers. She pulled herself out from the shared bed and rubbed her eyes. Beside her, Ardyn was snoring lightly and cuddling a pillow. She smiled, he was adorable.

She chuckled and walked over to her suitcase. She could only imagine what others would think, what Ardyn would think, if they heard that she had used the word 'adorable' in conjunction with him. She pulled out a change of clothes, her usual white shirt, black skirt and blazer, and went about getting changed. She pulled her hair back into a braid and spent extra time doing her make up, it wouldn't reflect well on Ardyn if she looked dreadful at the meetings.

She frowned at the thought of what was going to happen today. She had not been able to talk to Ardyn about her fears, and they nagged at the back of her mind. She shook her head and tried not to worry about it, at least until Ardyn was awake and she could talk to him- either way she would find out by the time they reached the city. Putting her make up away she pulled out one of her books and went up to the restaurant. There she ordered some breakfast eggs, coffee, and proceeded to try and read.

Apparently her book had succeeded where her attempts at sleeping had not, and had managed to distract her for three hours. When she realised the time she put her book down and went back to the room to check on Ardyn, only to find him still sleeping. She chuckled and took her luggage back to the car- to make her job a little easier later. Once she was back to the hotel she went out to the dock to look out at the ocean.

“Aint you a sight?” she turned to see a man with grey hair walking to her. “A gem, standing out, looking at the sea of blue, you're inspiring me to make something!”

She brushed imaginary hair behind her ear and raised a brow at him. “Sorry?”

He clicked his tongue and leaned against the railing beside her. “Dino, I make jewellery, you're inspiring me to make something. Something dark and beautiful.”

What was happening right now? She crossed her arms and leaned back against the rail. “You make jewellery?” she quipped. “May I see some?”

He made a sound. “I er, need a gem before I can make something, but I already have the picture in my head, it'd complement you- bring out your eyes.”

“Ellie?” she heard a voice call out, she went silent for a moment, thinking that it was Ardyn, but when she heard nothing else she shook her head. Perhaps she was hearing things? Needed more sleep probably. She turned her attention back to the man standing beside her.

“You like my eyes?” she had never had her eyes complimented before, her green eyes were plain, in her opinion, nothing like the Chancellor's. She wondered if the man before her was hitting on her, or wanted something else, years of working for Ardyn had made her paranoid of people who came up to her and started to talk- they usually wanted information on Ardyn.

“Yeah darl'n they're like two bright gems set in clasp of a broach or a ring.”

“Ah Ellie!” she jumped and looked over to see Ardyn standing at the bottom of the steps. He was watching her with an amused expression. She knew the Chancellor well enough though, he was annoyed about something, was it something that she had done? Or, she chanced a glance at the man beside her, had he? He put a hand on his hip with one hand and gestured at her with the other. “There you are, dear girl. We're leaving.” he inclined his head to indicate that she follow him.

She nodded and turned to the man beside her. “It was nice talking to you, good day.” She turned to chase after her employer who was now walking back up the stairs.

“Come see me again soon!” the man called out to her. “We'll organise making you something pretty!”

While chasing after Ardyn, she nearly collided with him as he stopped at the top of the steps. “S-Sir?” she gasped as she moved to stand beside him. “Do you-”

“Be a dear and get the bags.” he said not looking at her, his eyes seemed to focused on something else.

“I-I, of course Sir.” she scurried off to get his bag, suddenly very grateful that she had taken her things to the car already, it just made her life that little bit easier. When she returned back up to the restaurant, she scanned for the Chancellor but was unable to see him. Walking to the reception desk, she suddenly heard what sounded like crazed ramblings. Her shoulder slumped and she sighed.

The Chancellor was scaring random people again.

She turned to see that, yes, Ardyn was rambling wildly at a group of four youths. She wanted to roll her eyes. Did he really have to do this? Suddenly he flung something at the four before turning and strutting away hastily. Her eyes widened. “S-Sir!” she called, clutching the suitcase to her chest as she charged towards him.

“Sir wait!” she chanced a glance at the four boys as she raced past them. One was tall and really needed to put a shirt on. One was blonde and reminded her oddly of a chocobo. The blonde with glasses caught her attention, he was quite attractive, and she almost tripped as she took notice of the one that looked oddly like Prince Noctis. She was halfway down the pier when she realised that it _was_ Prince Noctis. She gasped and came to a halt. She turned back to look at the four boys who were walking into the restaurant. _He must have been going to his wedding._ She smiled, hope taking her heart, and turned to chase after Ardyn. Who she found waiting for her in the car, reading a newspaper.

She stopped and after panting, she took a moment to watch him. She loved watching him be so domestic, something about him reading the newspaper. As if feeling her eyes on him, he looked up and smirked at her. “Ready, Dear?”

She nodded and went about putting his luggage away. When she was done she climbed into the car and started the engine. “To Lucis?” she quipped.

He tipped his hat with a nod. “To Lucis.”

It was a beautiful day. Ellie noted as she drove. There were birds singing(probably), the sun was shining, and there was a cool breeze whipping at her face. She glanced at Ardyn who had put his newspaper down as they passed a garage with a diner. He crossed his leg and seemed to be completely focused on the road ahead. She felt her skin prickle with fear. Her worries were confirmed at the sight of the M.T's standing guard at the entrance to the city, flanked by magitek armour and the screams of citizens could be heard. She slowed the car down as she reached the checkpoint to enter the city.

“S-Sir...” she breathed quietly.

He said nothing, but his hand touched her thigh. He leaned out of the window lightly. “Oh hello!” he said to the M.T cheerfully. “Do let us in, will you? There's a good boy!” he slid back into his seat as the gates opened. He squeezed her tense thigh and inclined his head for her to proceed.

She slowly drove the car into the city. Her heart breaking at the sight of the citizens being collected by the M.T's. Blood splatter stains littered the walls of buildings and the ground, she had just missed the main fight, it seemed. “Sir... I thought... the peace treaty...”

He said nothing, his thumb rubbed her thigh as he gestured for her to continue.

With shaky hands she proceeded forward. A piece of her dying as she did.


	7. Road Trip

Chapter Seven

 

Roadtrip

 

Elise glared at the night sky through the window of the car. She was lying across the back seats of the car, a blanket covering her. She was sleeping in the car, while the Chancellor slept in a somewhat comfortable bed in the caravan a few feet from the car. She felt her lips tighten as she thought of Ardyn. He was the reason that she was in this predicament. He had _volunteered_ her. 

How had she ended up sleeping in the car? What circumstance had led to this happening?

Lets back track.

 

X

 

Ellie was silent as she followed behind Ardyn. The pair were walking through Insomnia towards the palace. Around them were people being corralled into big metal vans, while others were being let out of the city; 'to keep up appearances' she had heard a soldier say. She closed her eyes and took a breath. Why was this happening? Why was the Emperor allowing this to happen? What was the point? Where was the point in organising a wedding for peace, and then invading? Had the Emperor planned this all along? Had peace never been planned?

She jolted as she collided with something. She opened her eyes and jumped back, her eyes landing on what was in front of her- Ardyn. “S-Sorry Sir.” she jumped back and straightened herself up.

She eyed him warily, he had not said anything to her about her crashing into him. She eyed his back and noticed a tenseness in his shoulders. Why was he tense? A glance around her gave her notice that the soldiers around her- those who weren't MT's- were also tense, they seemed to be staring at something, something that she was unable, to see, her gaze was obscured by his back.

Slowly, she stepped from behind Ardyn to see what had caused the dismay. Her heart stilled. Lying motionless on a stretcher, was King Regis.

She gasped as the Chancellor moved beside her. Air rushed to her lungs with a gasp. The reality of everything suddenly hitting her. This was real. The war was happening, there was to be no peace. She heard a chuckle as General Glauca strode past her. She turned and watched the large man as he walked towards a black car that was waiting for him. He had done it. She knew, she wasn't sure how, but she knew. 

Movement from behind her caught her attention and she turned to see Ardyn walking walking towards the body of the, now dead, King of Lucis. She hesitantly stepped towards him, moving to stand beside him. She took a brief glance at the soldiers around, most of their faces were haunted, she understood, these men were mere soldiers, not officers. These men did not get to ride in Magitek Armour, no, these men were expected to do the same things that the M.T's did.

She glanced back to Ardyn and found him staring at the body with a frown. He seemed to be thinking about something, or perhaps remembering? He did not seem overly sad or but there seemed to be something tinged in his eyes. Her fingers twitched and she touched his back briefly before hastily snatching her hand away.

He turned to her and smiled in a way that was strange, there was an unsettling tinge to his smile and it seemed as though he was he was smiling at something that only he understood. She could only grasp at straws to imagine what. He reached forward and ruffled her hair, causing some of it to come out of the tie.

“Come Ellie,” he gestured a hand out towards the castle. “I have some people to meet, and then we're back on the road.”

She nodded hastily. “I,” she let out a breath to try and calm herself. “Of course Sir.” she bit her lip lightly and tried not to look at the body beside her.

He patted her shoulder then squeezed it lightly, it was almost tender, at least that's how she viewed it. As did the warmth that filled her chest at the touch. “Come on,” he released her shoulder and grinned, it was reassuring as it was macabre. “Let's go!”

 

X

 

Ellie started at the beautiful details painted into the ceiling of the guestroom that she was currently lying in. Ardyn was currently having a meeting with Verstael Besithia and some other Generals. She had supposed to be part of this meeting, to take notes for Ardyn but the Chancellor had sent her away, 'get some rest', he had said. Apparently she had looked tired after their walk through Insomnia.  _Tired_ , while it was was a word that she would use to describe,  _haunted,_ was perhaps a better description of herself in that moment. 

Flashes of the dead King flashed before her eyes and she turned around on the leather sofa that she was lying on. She stared at the brown leather of the chairs back. She closed her eyes and let out a shuddering breath. She had never wanted t be part of a war, never wanted to think about war. She missed being at home, missed getting up to make toast for Ardyn. Missed the poetry, missed Mabel... she even missed Rupert. 

Through missing them, the worry came. With this war, people were going to die. Many already had and others were being rounded up and put into trucks- what were they going to do to those people? Were they to be prisoners of war? She hoped that they were looked after.

She closed her eyes. She had heard whispers that Lunafreya had been killed as well. With the excitement she had felt at the news of the wedding, had made the news more devastating. She let out a shuddering breath and held back tears. Was it too late to go home? Her hands clenched. No, no she could not go home. If she went home then there would be no one to look after the Chancellor.

She let out a breath of laughter. She needed to stay for him, the man would never eat if she were not there. He wouldn't rest. In the times of war, people needed to stay together, and while she probably needed him more than he did her, she knew that she needed to stay. For him. Even if it were for no other reason than to take a bullet for him in this war, and she would. If someone went after Ardyn, she would do all in her power to protect him.

“Is that couch comfortable?” she jumped at the voice and hastily forced herself from the sofa and turned. Ardyn was closing the mahogany door behind him and moving towards the queen bed. He sat on the grey sheets and smiled crookedly at her. “The bed seems much more comfortable, I could be wrong though,” he chuckled. “I doubt it though.” he patted the spot beside him meaningfully.

She smiled wistfully and pulled herself from the sofa. Her legs wobbled as she trudged towards him. He watched her every step of the way, and eventually she slumped beside him. “Aww Dear Ellie,” he touched her back. “You'll be alright.” he moved his hand from her back and laid back onto the bed, he crossed his legs and they kicked lazily off the side of the bed.

“It's not me that I am worried about, Sir.” she turned back to look at him. His hat was removed and was now hanging from his finger as he twirled it lazily, his red hair splayed out against the grey. She turned back and looked down at her hands clasped atop her knees. “It's...” she clenched her hands again. “It's you sir,” she closed her eyes.

“Ellie.” his voice was quiet. The room went quiet for a few breaths. “Come here Ellie.” When she did not move, he called her again, this time his voice was firmer.

She turned to him and saw him waving at her and patting the spot beside him. She slowly slid beside him and laid down, her head resting on her forearm. He pulled himself up onto his elbow and watched her with an unreadable expression. She felt herself shy under his gaze, he seemed to assessing something, what she couldn't begin to understand. All of a sudden the expression was gone and he let out a chuckle, he flicked her nose gently. “Silly girl,” he chuckled. “I'll be fine, I am  _flattered_ however that you care for me so.”

She flushed and looked away. He grasped her cheek and pulled her to look back up at him, his eyes glittered. “Now, my Dear, we have this wonderful little room that we can enjoy,” he brushed her hair out of her face. “we leave in the morning, now however, shall I help you  _relax_ ?”

Despite the shadow over her mind, she found herself smiling.

_He always did know how to make her feel better._

 

X

 

She slowly placed their luggage in the car. She had been ready to leave for hours, days actually but they were at their last day so she had been waiting for hours since she woke. It had been so long, and in this time she had hardly seen Ardyn, most of the time he had seemed to have disappeared off of the face of the planet. This had left her to take stock of the soldiers and gather as much information that she could about the situation. Eventually after a week, Ardyn had turned up again and had just gone to sleep, if she had not known better, she would have assumed him to be dead with how solid he was on the bed.

She had had to wait for today to leave for several reasons, the main one being that The Chancellor had one more meeting to attend before they left. She was not sure however, whether or not to be concerned that he had refused her request to attend the meetings.

Either the man was concerned for her health(the meetings were long) or he was hiding something from her, which was entirely possible. She shook her head at the thought and looked around at the soldiers walking around the city, she just wanted to leave. She pulled herself into the drivers seat and waited. The car was safe, it was calming, it made her feel protected, more so now.

She turned her head the the passenger side as the door clicked open. She saw The Chancellor climb into the car. He turned to her with a grin. “Are we ready to go?”

She nodded and started the ignition. “Where to Sir?”

“Lestallum.” he replied sinking into the chair and made himself comfortable.

“Right, Sir.” and with that said she reversed the car from it's park, turned and left. As she drove through Lucis, Ardyn set the course to Lestallum on her phone's GPS. He set the phone in it's holder near her, and she glanced at the map before looking back at the road. She eyed the soldiers who were marching through the city, and was glad to be leaving.

They had left the city too late, it seemed, and they ended up having to spend the night in Gauldin Quay. Which ended up being three days, due to the Chancellor developing the 'urge' to go fishing. Why he had needed to spend three days fishing, went over her head but she did not complain. She instead chose to read for the few days.

“Are you _sure_ that you are finished fishing?” she asked with an edge to her voice as she put their luggage into the back of the car.

“Quite, Dear girl.” he patted her back as he walked around to the drivers side of the car. “Shall we be off? I have an appointment to keep.” he climbed into the car.

She followed suit and took her seat, glad to be the passenger this time. “I would like to visit the street markets.”

 

x

 

Lestallum was every bit the bustling city that she had seen on television. Working for Ardyn, she was able to visit many places, but she had never been here before, so it was a good experience to be somewhere different. It was a good distraction from the war as well.

She followed behind Ardyn as he made his way towards the hotel where they would be staying. She clutched at their luggage as they walked down a street. She caught sight of a street stall while she walked. She could smell the street foods. She closed her eyes and almost moaned, whatever it was, it smelled phenomenal.

“We're here!” Ardyn chimed causing her to jump from her food induced state. She turned to see him pointing to a large building.

“Coming sir!” she tore herself from the wonderful smells and followed him into the large building.

The dark furniture mixed with the bright light pouring from the window made the place feel, relaxing. Ellie decided as she carried the luggage to their room. They had received a look from the older reception worker as it was made known that they were sharing a room together. Ellie was used to that though so she held her head high and gave the woman a pleasant 'thank you' when they walked into their room.

“You have quite the gift for the passive aggressive.” Ardyn commented as he threw himself onto the bed. He reached over and grabbed a magazine off of the side table and began nonchalantly flipping through it.

“Old biddy needs to keep her nose out of other people's business.” she grumbled as she placed the bags in a corner on the floor.

He snorted but didn't comment.

“Sir.” she turned to him and leaned against the dresser. “Do you mind if I go and look at the shops tomorrow? Some of the foods smelled amazing!”

He pulled his had off and placed it on the side table where the magazine had been. He then ruffled his hair out and looked up at her with a lazy smile. “Of course, are you going to cook something?”

She nodded. “I can.”

“Well then tonight we shall suffer room service,” he placed a hand on his chest and lowered his head in mock sorrow. “And tomorrow you can cook something decidedly better.” he smiled, causing her to return the look.

She bent down to her bag and pulled out a book. She then took the spot beside him and snuggled into the pillows. She opened the book to her marked page and scanned the page to find where she had left off. There it was, Doreen was succumbing to Manfred's charms. She inwardly grumbled, she hated Doreen, the woman was completely insane, she just hoped that Manfred ate her soon.

“Are you reading a _naughty_ story?” she felt the Chancellor move and place his head on her shoulder. She could feel his teasing grin.

“Do you mind Sir?” she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“No, not really.” he made no effort to move while she read, and would give a running commentary on what was happening in the book. At least he seemed to dislike Doreen as much as she did, which seemed to make her death all the more sweeter to Ellie.

 

X

 

Ellie smiled as she picked up some herbs. She held them to her nose and inhaled, they smelled amazing, she could already think of at least four recipes that she could use them in. She gestured to the man running the stall. “I'll take some!” she paid the thousand Gil for her selection and moved onto the next stall, this one had a selection of fish and meats for sale. Again she went about making her selection, she was going to be able to make Ardyn all sorts of wonderful meals with these.

“Flowers!” a man at a stall called out as she walked through the bustling street.

She paused to look at the flowers before moving on.

“Pretty flowers for a pretty lady!” the man called out to her.

She ducked her head with a flush and turned back to the man. “Excuse me?”

He held out some purple iris' to her. “Would you like some flowers?”

She looked down at the flowers, they _were_ pretty. “Thank you.” she accepted the gift.

He winked at her. “Come back tomorrow and we'll have even better ones!”

She smiled and nodded. “I'll think about it.” she bowed lightly in thanks and left to go back to the hotel. There was a lightness to her step, her shopping trip had certainly helped to make her feel better. She ignored the old woman as she walked into the hotel and made her way to the room. As she went to open the door she paused as she heard The Chancellor talking to someone, a woman. She raised a brow, who _was_ that? She opened the door and walked into the room.

She was met with the sight of Ardyn sitting on the sofa with a slouch, talking to a woman who was standing in front of him with her back turned to Ellie. She had a very attractive back, was the first thing that Ellie noticed. “Sir?” she said softly, closing the door behind her.

Ardyn extended his neck so that he could look past the person in front of him. “Ah, Ellie! Back so soon!” he clasped his hands on his lap. “What did you get?”

“Some herbs... and meat...” her brow furrowed as the woman turned to face her with crossed arms. Had she seen the woman before? Something told her that she had.

“Miss Tummelt.” The woman said evenly.

At her silence Ardyn interjected. “Ellie, greet Commodore Highwind.” his voice was chastising but his eyes twinkled.

Suddenly the woman's face clicked in her mind. Commodore Aranea Highwind. While Ellie had never met the woman personally, she had read reports on her and had seen her photo within those reports. Her shoulders relaxed lightly and she gave the woman an incline bow. “Good to meet you Commodore.”

Aranea made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a snort but her face gave no indication of laughter. “Good to meet you as well.”

Ellie nodded and walked into the kitchenette of the room. She placed her bags on the bench and went about putting the foods away. “Commodore Highwind,” she said as she put the meat into the refrigerator. “Would you like a cup of coffee or some tea? I'm afraid that I cannot offer you much else.”

“No.” Aranea replied evenly. “You want me to?” she addressed Ardyn.

“Continue on as you have been instructed.” he replied.

Ellie watched as Aranea nodded and made move to leave. “Goodbye Chancellor Izunia, Miss Tummelt.” was all she said before exiting the suite, the door closing behind her with a gentle click.

“She seems... nice enough, quiet.” Ellie remarked as she went about making some tea.

Ardyn leaned back into the seat and reached over for a magazine. He began to flip through it in a bored fashion. “She's agreeable, more so than some of the other members of the army.” he paused at a page. “That coat is simply _divine_.” he examined it over before returning to flipping.

She poured the boiling water into the teacups and put in the teabags. She smiled at the rich smell of the bergamot and dipped the teabags in and out of the water for a few turns before taking them over to the coffee table in front of Ardyn. “Would you like me to start on dinner, Sir?”

He glanced up at the clock, it was a quarter to five. “Hm... no, it's still early.” he pulled himself up from the sofa and headed towards their bedroom. “I think that I shall take a nap!” he turned to her with a grin. “You're welcome to join me, dear Ellie?”

 

_How could she refuse?_

 

X

 

Ellie sighed. She was going to miss Lestallum. Earlier that morning, The Chancellor had woken her up to inform her that she needed to pack their things, because they needed to leave at some point today- when he had not made her privy too, he had however told her to meet him at their car, by the observation area at noon. Which, after putting the bags away, had left Ellie to her own devices for a few hours. So she had decided to walk through the streets and try to memorise as many smells and sights that she could, she had even bought some ingredients so that she could cook when they next rested.

She had just finished buying some berries when she realised the time and rushed back to the car. When she reached the car she found no sign of the Chancellor. She sighed at the time wasted running, she could have walked and saved the energy. She let out an annoyed breath, at least she had made it in time.

She need not had felt her annoyance however as in that moment Ardyn came walking to the car with the group of boys she had seen in Gauldin.

'Noctis.' she eyed the prince up and down. He looked so much younger now that she was standing before him. In the photos that she had seen he had always looked young, but not as young as he looked now. Before her now was a boy, a boy who was too young to be dealing with wars, too young to be getting married as well. Then again, she probably wasn't too much older than he was.

“Do try to keep up!” She jumped at the sound of his voice, she had zoned out for a few moments. Ardyn sounded pleased. Far too pleased. She raised her eyes at him as he walked to the car and climbed into the drivers side.

She looked over to the Prince and his group and saw them climbing into their own car. She heard a car start and jumped again, she hastily climbed into the car beside the Chancellor and saw him stroke the wheel with a smirk.

“What is our next course of action Sir?” she asked as he pulled out in front of the Prince's entourage and onto the streets of Lestallum.

“We're going on a trip with the dear Prince.” he replied with a smile. As they left Lestallum he pushed harder against the accelerator.

“What do you mean sir?” she pressed. To the best of her knowledge, helping Prince Noctis went against what they- the Empire- wanted them to do. Was he helping him? Or was there some sort of other motive? At the thought of the prince, she turned her head to look at the car struggling to keep up with them. “You're teasing them.” she looked back to Ardyn.

He smiled. “The dear Prince needs to learn to do things for himself.” the smile twisted into something that while it was still a smile, it looked strange. Ellie could not name the emotions held within that smile, it was unsettling.

“They're having trouble keeping up.” she commented with a glance in the rear view mirror.

Ardyn grinned and the car seemed to speed up. “Oh, Dear Ellie,” he said as though remembering something. “Do refer to me as 'Ardyn' or 'Sir', for the time being, they do nor need to know me as they chancellor as of yet.”

She raised a brow in inquiry, but when he did not answer her unasked question, she nodded and went about hunting down her book.. A few hours later, as the sun was beginning to set, Ardyn pulled the car over and turned the engine off. Ellie looked up from her book and saw that they were parked at a rest stop. She turned her head to see the Prince's car pull in behind them.

“We'll stay here tonight!” she heard Ardyn say as he pulled himself out.

She could hear the Prince's entourage grumble complaints, she couldn't blame them, there still was quite a lot of sun, enough to get to the next stop, probably. But she wasn't going to say anything, the Chancellor, once he had made up his mind, did not give up easily. He patted her head and told her to rent the caravan for them. With a nod she went into the shop and waited in the line.

After a few minutes of waiting she looked up to see why they were taking so long. It was then that she noticed a woman who was complaining about the quality about a product that she had purchased. She rolled her eyes and picked up a cooking magazine, at least she could get some meal ideas.

“Are you interested in cooking?” she looked up to see a member of The Prince's group. The blond one with glasses.

“Yes,” she pushed some hair behind her ears. “As Ardyn's personal assistant. I do all of his cooking, cleaning and everything else he needs.”

The blond nodded. “I understand, I too, aid Noctis in his daily tasks.” he paused and regarded her briefly. “I apologise, I have been rude. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Ignis Scientia.”

Ellie smiled at him. “Elise Tummelt, Ellie, pleased to meet you.” she held a hand out and shook his. It was then that she noticed that the woman at the counter was now gone and she was free to make the purchase. She turned to the counter and booked the caravan for the night and paid for the magazine. Once she was done she watched as Ignis purchased some medical supplies. It was probably a good idea, considering the kinds of trouble she had heard that they had gotten into.

As he finished and turned to her, she held up the keys to the caravan and smiled. “Shall we go see the room?”

“What kind of meals do you like to cook?” Ignis asked as he held the door for her.

She smiled in thanks and stepped through the door. “I have a soft spot for cooking breakfasts, anything with eggs, bacon and herbs.”

He followed after her and they walked to the caravan. The keys did not want to work for Ellie and she found herself jiggling and turning the keys around several times before the door finally unlocked and swung open with a 'clunk'. “Well that was entirely too much effort, for so little pay off.” she commented as she stepped into the tiny caravan. She frowned, the place was tiny would barely fit the four boys, let alone herself and the Chancellor. She turned to Ignis and found herself uncomfortably close to him, their chests nearly touching- it was innocent enough though, he was merely trying to look at the kitchen utensils.

“Sorry Ignis.” she flushed went to move.

“I am sorry as well.” he replied.

“Hey Iggy!” a voice called out. The blonde with chocobo hair came barrelling into the caravan. “This where we're staying tonight-” he caught himself as he caught sight of the two. His lips twitched and his eyebrows wagged. “Iggy.” the was a teasing tone to his voice.

Ignis cleared his throat. “Prompto.” there was a tired tone to his voice, he knew exactly where Prompto's mind had gone.

“Dear Ellie where are you~” Came Ardyn's sing-song voice as he fluttered into the caravan. He paused as he caught sight of Ellie, his brow raised and something strange flashed in his eyes. “Elise, be a dear and get the bags.”

Her flinch at him calling her 'Elise', did not go unnoticed. “Of course, Sir.” she squeezed past Ignis and caught the eyes of the other blond, 'Prompto', who sent her a sympathetic smile. She glanced at the Chancellor, who had sat on one of the chairs outside of the caravan, and made her way to the car. Was he mad at her? She had not done anything wrong, yes it had been a compromising position, but it had been completely innocent! Her lips tightened as she opened the car boot and pulled out their suitcases. She then carried them back to find Ardyn having a discussion with the others.

“There is not much room, we shall need to be clever in our sleeping arrangements.” Ignis commented from his position in the caravan doorway.

“It would be easier if you weren't so huge!” Prompto nudged the tall one who was not wearing a shirt on the shoulder.

“Shut it!” The larger man shoved him back.

“It is a good point.” Noctis commented.

“Maybe you can share with Prompto, since your both so tiny!” The larger man snapped.

“We'll be okay, Ellie can sleep in the car.” The Chancellor said casually while inspecting a piece of fluff on his pants. He glanced up at her with a smile, she was too busy gaping to respond to it.

“I do not agree,” Ignis replied. “I shall sleep in the regalia, if need be, Elise may have one of the beds.”

Her gape softened into a brief smile. Ignis was something of a gentleman, it seemed.

“Hm,” Ardyn pretended to think about it. “no, she's fine, aren't you Elise?” he sent a half grin and a raised brow.

She was most certainly _not_ fine with sleeping in the car. A healthy fear of Daemons had completely wiped any desires to sleep outside. Not only that, what if someone _tried_ something while she was asleep, not that she wasn't capable of taking care of herself, but it was still a fear. “I...” she felt his eyes bore into her. “I, yes, I... I have no complaints Sir.” she acquiesced.

The four boys certainly looked like they had something to complain about but Ardyn halted any more words by clapping his hands together and letting out a sound of pleasure. “Well there you have it! Elise is fine, now let us have dinner! Elise, do you have any food packed?”

Every time she heard him say her name she felt something stab in her chest. She nodded. “Yes, Sir...” then she moved to her suit case to find the foods that she had brought. She knelt on the bag and rummaged through and found what she was looking for, some vegetables, the noddles and some bacon.

“Can I assist you?” she turned to see a pair of legs standing beside her, she looked up to see that the legs belonged to Ignis.

She nodded. “Sure, you think that you can boil these?” she passed him the beg of noodles.

He nodded and took them to the caravan to boil. She watched his retreating back before turning her attention to the rest of the food. She would need to dice them, knowing that there was no room in the caravan she took them to the barbeque and set about dicing them. Every now and then she would look back at the others, who had began to play a game of cards.

“The noodles are done.” Ignis said as he returned with a bowl of boiled and strained noodles.

She smiled and adjusted the heat on the barbeque. “We'll fry them up with the vegetables and meat.” she threw the diced ingredients onto the hotplate. She put the noodles aside to wait for a few minutes. “Thank you for helping me.”

He smiled at her. “You are welcome.” he glanced in the direction of the others playing cards. “I apologise for the bedding situation. If you need to, I am able to relinquish the bed.”

She shook her head and glanced at Ardyn briefly, he seemed to be enjoying himself. “Ardyn wants me to sleep in the car... I... I don't mind.” she smiled weakly. “Do not worry about me.” she turned back to the food and flipped the food around on the hotplate. It was ready for the noodles. She added them then poured some sauce over the food and mixed it through.

“Could you get some bowls?” she asked Ignis. “Or watch the food while I go and get some.”

“I'll go.”

“That smells really good.” a voice said as she flipped the food around. She looked up to see the tall dark haired man, Gladio, her mind supplied.

“Thank you.”

When Ignis returned they sat down to eat.

 

X

 

“Well that was _delicious,_ thank you Elise!” Ardyn threw her praise as he dabbed at his lips with a napkin.

“You're welcome, Sir.” she bowed her head.

“You cook quite well, reminds me of Iggy's cooking.” Noctis replied with a smile.

Elise smiled at him and set about collecting the plates for clean up, only to have Gladio take them from her. She looked up at the large man questioningly.

“You cooked, we'll clean, Come on Prompto!' he called out to the blond, who looked as though he was about to complain but a look from Gladio got him to pull himself from the chair and follow after.

Elise watched their retreating backs with a fond smile. They were quite kind. She glanced at her watch briefly to check the time, only to notice that it was getting late. She frowned. “Sir, If I may,” she drew Ardyn's attention to her. “it is getting late, may I be excused for the night?” were they at home, he would have instantly noticed that something was wrong from they way she spoke- he may have now, but he gave no indication that he did.

“Of course, Elise, do sleep well.” there was a smile on his face.

She turned her attention to the other two sitting at the table and gave a bow. “Goodnight,” she lifted her head. “Goodnight Prompto, Gladio!” she then turned and headed to the car.

That was what lead her to where she was now, staring at the stars, sleeping in the car. Just what had she done to deserve this? Ardyn had never been cruel to her before. She clutched at the blanket and closed her eyes. She wished that she was home. Things were so much easier, so much more simple at home. She sighed, but she wasn't at home, and things had not been simple in a long time. She had heard the others go to bed at least an hour ago, she had been trying to sleep since. Sleep, however, was eluding her, it could have been many things that stalled her sleep, but she had a feeling that it was because she was sleeping in the car!

She let out a growl and slapped her hand against the seat. Would she just go to sleep already.

A tap at her window caused her to jump. Eyes wild she reached for the emergency gun behind Ardyn's chair and pulled herself up. She moved her arms to aim the gun at the window, only to freeze at the sight of Ardyn staring at her through the window with a grin.

“Awww Elise, whatever did I do to deserve that?” he gestured to the gun.

She relaxed and lowered her gun. “Sorry Sir, I, you frightened me.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “It's quite alright.” he stepped away from the car. “Now be a dear and get out, come for a walk with me.”

She blanched. He wanted to go for a walk? Now? Could he not see that lack of light outside? If they went for a walk that could potentially be attacked by daemons. Flashes of Ardyn being attacked flew through her. She reached for the door to pull herself out of the car. The last thing that she wanted was for Ardyn to be attacked and murdered, she'd die first.

“Where are we walking to, Sir?” she asked as she closed the car door behind her. She shivered as the cold air hit her.

He eyed her briefly before shrugging off his coat. “Here.” he held it out to her.

“Sir!” she gasped as she collected the heavy coat into her arms. She rubbed her thumbs against the fabric and looked up at him with wide eyes. “Thank you, Sir, I can get mine if you are cold.”

He waved dismissively. “Don't worry about me.” he took some steps towards the road. He waved his hand at her. “Come.”

She hastily slipped his coat on and followed after him. While they walked towards some boulders out in the grasslands and away from the camp, she found herself playing with the coat. It was so soft and warm and comfortable. She also realised why he walked like he was dancing all of the time, with a coat this fabulous, why wouldn't you? She however, did not follow her urge to strut like him, as she was more focused on keeping an eye out for daemons.

Surprisingly they did not meet any.

Eventually they reached the rock formation. Ardyn leaned his back against a boulder and looked up at the stars. Ellie watched him and found him hauntingly beautiful bathed in the moonlight. She stepped closer to him and he turned his amber eyes to her.

“Sir, I'm sorry.” she said quietly. “I know not what I have done to offend you, but please, please, accept my deepest apologies.”

He regarded her silently. “Dear Ellie...” he reached out to her.

Her reaction was instant and she practically leapt into his arms. Her arms wound around him tightly and buried her face in his chest. Inhaling deeply she felt her body relax at his scent. She practically melted as she felt his hand touch her head and stroke her hair.

“I see you've made a friend, Ellie.”

She paused. Was he jealous? She lifted her head to look up at him. The idea was absolutely ridiculous and insane... but was he? She lifted her hand to his cheek. “They're nice boys Sir.” she stoked his cheek. “I missed you tonight.” she said quietly. They had spent time apart before, but tonight had been different, they had been together but he had been cold.

He raised a brow at her and touched her shoulder lightly. Before she knew what was happening she found herself being pushed back against a boulder. She looked into his glittering eyes and felt the words on her tongue die. His grin was devilish, cheeky, naughty and beautiful all in one. She was speechless.

His hands slid under the coat and began to undo the buttons of her shirt. “Perhaps I can make it up to you Dear Ellie.” he teased.

Were she thinking rationally at that moment, she would have said no, because who in their right mind would do what they were about they were going to do outside, at night where daemons could lunge at them at any moment. She would have protested, but she found herself giving into his wishes, against the boulder, under the moonlight.

 

_And she couldn't have been happier._

 


	8. The Archean

Chapter Eight

The Archaean

 

Ignis stared at the ceiling of the caravan, a frown on his face. He did not like it. There was a woman sleeping outside in a car when she could have had one of the beds. He had offered to sleep in the car instead of her, but instead she had been forced into her current position. He glared as he thought about this 'Ardyn', character. He had forced her to stay the night in a place where she clearly was not comfortable staying. He rolled over and closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep.

A few minutes passed before he rolled back onto his back and let out a sigh. It was no use, he had been trying to sleep for hours. He knew that he had managed at least twenty minutes at some point but that was not going to be enough, especially since they were going to the Disk of Cauthiss tomorrow. Provided their escort did not make them make another stop.

He closed his eyes and attempted to sleep again. He was unable to. Thoughts of the girl sleeping in the car continued to plague him. He let out a sound of frustration and pulled himself up to sit- as well as he could sit with his head as close to the roof as it was, being on the top bunk and all. He quietly climbed down from the bed, his feet touching the tin floor loudly causing him to freeze. He took a quick glance around but it appeared that he had not woken anyone up. He crept past the sleeping men and headed to the door. Though he probably need not have worried, if Gladio's snoring had not woken anyone up, his steps wouldn't.

He quickly put his shoes and his jacket on before opening the door. As he steppe through the threshold he was glad for the thought of putting on a coat, it was quite cold outside. He looked around through the darkness that was illuminated by starlight and the artificial lights from the shop. He spotted the car and made his way towards it. He wondered whether or not he should offer her his bed if she was still awake. He nodded deciding that that was the best course of action, even if she turned him down, he would 'possibly' sleep better knowing that he had tried another time. He would also sleep better knowing that she was safe.

He froze as he reached the car. She was not there. There was no one in the car. His eyes locked onto the gun that was sitting on the seat. A chill shot through him. Had something happened to her? There didn't look like there had been a struggle, but a gun on the seat? With no Elise? What had happened? He looked around but saw no sign of her. He walked around and investigated the area, just in case he could find her before running back to the caravan to alert the others.

While walking through the stop he paused as he heard a sound. It sounded like a gasp or cry or something. He paused. Could it be? He stepped towards the edge of the rest stop towards the fields. He heard the sound again. Was it an animal or a daemon? Or was it Elise. He edged towards the barrier fence and tried to see if he could see anything. He was unable to see anything. He heard the sound again, it was in the direction of a rock formation.

“Iggy... what are you doing?” a groggy voice said from behind him.

He turned to see Prompto walking towards him.

“What are you doing awake?” Ignis asked turning back to the grasslands. He tried to listen for the sound again. He could still hear it faintly.

“I could ask you the same thing man.” Prompto replied crossing his arms and moving to stand beside Ignis. “My bed was the sofa across from the door man, I woke to a cold burst of air hitting me and you walking out.” he shot Ignis a sideways glare. “Thanks for the wake up.”

“My apologies.” he replied quietly as he tried to listen for the sound. His eyes narrowed as he heard it again. “Go back to sleep, I will return shortly.” he started to walk in the direction of the sounds that he had heard.

“Hey Ignis, what are you doing?” he chased after the other. “Don't go out there by yourself, I'll come with you!” he fell into step beside Ignis. “What's so important out there?”

“I can hear something.. sounds, and Elise has gone missing. I want to make sure that nothing has happened to her.” he hoped that it was her, in the sense that they would have found her and she would be safe- that was the best scenario, he was not going to think about the worst case scenarios yet.

“Iggy, perhaps we should go back and get the others?” Prompto suggested as they walked through the darkened grass. He shot a weary glance around them. His nervousness was rolling off of him in waves. He jogged to keep up with Ignis and clutched at his arm. “Come on Iggy let's-” he jumped at the sound of a loud feminine moan.

Ignis paused and retrieved his weapons. He turned to Prompto and held a finger up to silence him. Prompto nodded and readied himself for a fight, though, if one were to ask him, the sounds that he was hearing was not necessarily fighting sounds. It was hard to see due to the lack of light, but he was pretty sure that they were in for a surprise, one way or another. They reached a group of bushes, the crouched behind them.

The pair nodded to each other before slowly sticking their heads out from behind the bushes.

Their eyes widened.

Prompto's hand slid towards his camera.

He jumped as Ignis halted his action with a firm hand to his wrist and a dark look.

Their eyes moved back to the scene before them.

Golden eyes glittered back at them, then winked.

The two hurried back to the caravan.

 

_Sleep eluded Ignis and Prompto that night._

 

X

 

Ellie groaned at the sound of her phone's alarm beeping. She reached out from underneath the blanket covering her and felt her hand against the floor of the car to find the source of the beeping. She groaned as her hand continued to hit the carpet floor and the sound of the beeping increased. She growled and cracked open her eyes. She blinked at the bright light beaming through the window. It was still early, but the angle that the car was parked made it so that the light could shoot in.

She blinked to adjust to the light while at the same time she still felt for the phone. “Oh be quiet...” she grumbled as she felt the plastic object. She raised it to her eyesight and turned the alarm off. It was five thirty. Lovely.

She sat up and her 'blanket' slid down to her waist. She looked down and her eyes widened as she reached down to finger the fabric of Ardyn's coat. _That's right_ , she thought looking down at the fabric. He had given it to her the night before and after their, _jaunt_ , outside, had let her keep it in the car. _'It might get cold.'_ he had said before bidding her goodnight. Pulled the fabric to her face and inhaled, it smelled just like him. She smiled and moved around on the chair to sit properly.

She would have to get changed. Her current clothes were still covered in dirt from being thrown to the ground the night before. If she remembered correctly, she had put her suitcase back in the car after being volunteered to sleep in said car. She raised her arms to stretch and let out a sigh as she hit the cars roof. It was time to get up. She slipped her shoes on as she slid out of the car and went about getting her change of clothes out of the car. Luckily, the shop had opened so she was able to go there and use their bathroom to change.

She winced as she pulled her clothes off. She was covered in remnants of dirt and her arms, legs and part of her back was littered with grazes and scratches. She sighed again- something that was quite frequent this morning- and hoped that their next stop had a shower. She let out a breath of laughter, if only her luck was that good. She rummaged through her bag until she found a packet of make up removed wipes and went about cleaning as much of the dirt as she could. She used the entire packet, but by the end she was at least happy with the result. Her back was still a mess, but at least her legs, arms and face were clean. Afterwards she went about applying her make up and getting changed into her skirt and white button up blouse, the Chancellor's coat draped over her shoulders- she made quite the sight.

“I wonder if anyone is awake.” she murmured to herself as she left the bathroom and took her things back to the car. She looked over to the caravan, she could not see any movement, nor could she hear anything. “I'll start on breakfast, then everyone can wake up happily.” she headed to the shop and purchased some food; bacon, bread and some eggs. She then went about making the breakfast in front of the caravan.

Her hunch turned out to be correct. As soon as she put the bacon on to cook the others started to wake up and came marching from the caravan. They seemed to be in a good mood as well. She greeted them each with a 'good morning' as they walked out. Noctis and Gladio each responded with a polite 'morning', Prompto seemed to be unable to meet her eyes and when he did he would giggle, he said 'good morning' but it seemed almost strained.

“Good morning Miss Elise.” Ignis returned her greeting as he walked out.

She turned to him with a smile. “Good morning.” she went back to giving the food attention. “Did you sleep well?” she asked as she moved that bacon to the serving plate- a disposable paper plate, how she longed to be back home with her nice dinner sets.

“As well as I could do.” he replied evenly before moving to assist her with in taking the finished food to the table. As they placed the food on the table, Ardyn strode from the caravan, a bright smile on his face.

“Good morning everyone!” he beamed as he stretched his arms out and arched his back. “That smells wonderful~” he sang as he walked towards Elise who was placing the remaining food on a plate. He stuck his head over her shoulder and leaned towards the food. “You always make the best bacon.” he praised and pulled back then moved to sit at the table.

Ellie smiled and turned to take the food to the table. Suddenly she stilled. Her mouth filled with bile and the world around her began to spin. _The food,_ she thought and sucked a breath through her nostirls. Her stomach churned at the smell. She slowly put the plate on the table and turned.

“Elise?” she heard Ignis say, his voice concerned.

She waved a hand dismissivly and hastily headed to the bathroom. The bile in her mouth filled as she flung the door open and slammed it behind her. She threw the coat from her shoulders and onto a stool in the corner- she couldn't bare to damage his coat. She collapsed in front of the bowl and clutched at the sides.

_The sounds she made could be heard to any who chose to stand by the door._

 

X

 

Some twenty minutes later she headed back to the caravan, feeling somewhat better than she had before. However as she walked closer to the smell of the food, she began to feel uncomfortable again. She swallowed her saliva and let out a breath. _She would not be sick again._ “How is the food?” she asked with a a smile as she came to stand beside the seated Chancellor. Her fingers ran idly down the fabric of his jacket, having not put it back on after her stint in the bathroom.

“It's tasty Ellie!” he grinned up at her and gestured to a plate beside his with some food in it. “Here, we saved you some.”

She nearly lurched forward at the thought of eating the food. This caused her to pause, just _what_ was wrong with her? She loves bacon, perhaps she has caught a bug or something? She thought perhaps it had been something related to sleeping in the car, but perhaps she was suffering some ailment? She shook her head slowly. “No, thank you, Sir... I, I am not hungry.”

“You okay?” the Prince piped while munching on some toast.

“Yes, Sir-”

“Noctis!” the Prince interrupted with hands raised in protest. “Please, just call me Noctis.”

She smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Si- Noctis, I am okay, just not feeling very hungry.” she then turned her attention back to the Chancellor. “Sir if you are alright, I'll start preparing the car for our departure.” with that said she turned, then paused. “Oh Sir, here.” she passed him the jacket. “Thank you for lending it to me.” she then left for the car.

 

X

 

While she prepared the car, she looked over to see the five males talking amongst themselves, though talking was a loose term. They were talking, certainly, but there was a tenseness around them, at least on the Prince's party's side, Ardyn was acting like his typical nonchalant self. She supposed that they were discussing their drive, she remembered that the boys did not seem to impressed or comfortable at all with Ardyn, so she understood why things were terse. She watched as the four began to head towards their car, it was time for them to go. She headed for the passenger side, on her way she was stopped by Prompto who called out to her while lightly jogging to her.

“Yes?” she asked.

His lips quirked up in a smile. “Here, these are for you.” he passed her a little white envelope before jogging back to the other car.

She looked down at the envelope and climbed into the car. She heard the door across from her open as Ardyn slid into the car. She glanced at him as he started the car and pulled out onto the road. She glanced back down at the envelope in her hands.

“What is that?” Ardyn asked.

“Prompto gave it to me...” she replied as she broke open the seal. She pulled out a few photos. Her eyes glazed over the first photo, it was of her and Ignis cooking, the second was of herself sitting with the others and looking quite unhappy- this would have been when she had been offered up to sleep in the car. The third... her eyes widened at the third photo, it was of her and Ardyn... kissing. This had been taken after their _session_ at the rocks. Prompto had been awake? He must have been, but then that meant...

Her heart hammered in her chest as she pulled out the last photo, then it stopped. Her eyes widened, there was a slight tremble in her hands as she clutched at the photo.

The photo was of them.

Of her and Ardyn.

By the rocks.

She shook lightly as she looked down at it. Aesthetically, it was a beautiful photo, the lighting was wonderful and the scene was beautiful, however the subject matter was more than a little shocking to Ellie. Prompto had seen her, seen _them_ being intimate. Who else had seen them? Had the other boys been awake? Her cheeks reddened and her heart resumed it's hammering.

“Oooo what's that?” Ardyn reached over and plucked the photos from her hands.

“S-Sir!” she gasped reaching to take them from him, but it was too late, he was already glancing at them.

“Oh my.” A grin took his face, it was feral. He somehow managed to drive the car and maintain its speed while looking at the photo. “Well it seems that Prompto has been a _cheeky_ boy.”

She flushed. Then reached for the photo's again.

“Oops!” then they were gone.

Ellie gasped and moved around in her seat in an attempt to catch the photo's, but they were gone. It had happened so quickly that she didn't even see them, they were just gone. She turned to Ardyn with wide eyes. “Sir!? We need to go find them!”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Don't worry about it, dear girl.” he shrugged. “We have our memories... and we can _reenact_ the experience if you like.” he chuckled and sped the car up, causing the car behind them to struggle to keep up.

Despite her current feelings towards the situation, she felt herself smiling and rolling her eyes. She rested her elbow against the door and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. “Why are we taking them to the disk of Cauthiss?” she asked as she took in the scenery passing them by. “Are they to see the Archaean?”

“That remains to be seen.” he replied as he slowed the car down as they reached the gate. He came to a stop and waved out to the M.T's in charge of the gate. He called out for them to open the gate, then waved goodbye to the other car as they continued forwards.

Once they were gone Ardyn turned the car around and started down the road that they came from. He drove them at least a hundred meters down the road before pulling over. She looked over at him as he turned to her. Her eyes widened at the frown on his face. What was wrong? Had she done something? “Sir, Ardyn, is everything alright?” she rarely said his name these days, calling him 'Sir' had just become habit, but something in his eyes urged her to use his name in this instance.

He scanned her face, his golden eyes soaking her in, he was assessing her. Why? He reached out and she held back a flinch as his hand touched her forehead. Her green eyes moved up to his, but they did not link, he seemed to be studying her. His thumb rubbed her forehead gently, then his hand slid down to cup her face, finally their eyes met.

“You are sick?” he asked as he continued to stoke her chin.

She bit her lip as worry etched her face. “I... I was a little unwell this morning, yes.”

His eyes softened but there was still a frown on his face. “What happened?”

She leaned into the hand that had not moved from her face. “I just... couldn't eat, the food smelled and made me feel woozy.” she reached up and touched his hand. “But I'm feeling better now.” they were both quiet for a long time, as they continued to stare at each other, eventually Ardyn broke into a smile, he pushed some hair out of her face before turning back to the wheel.

“We'll be reaching the rendezvous point in an hour, when we get picked up do eat something nourishing, in the meantime have a granola bar.” he pointed to the glove compartment. He started the car back up and started driving again.

She smiled at him and felt warmth in her chest. She did as she was asked and ate one of the 'emergency' food bars. She tried to ignore the taste in her mouth and the churning in her stomach as she chewed.

 

X

 

Ellie nibbled on her sandwich as she walked around the airship. It had been three hours since they had been picked up and was not quite sure where they were going, Ardyn had said they would be 'picking something up' soon which was so cryptic it was unhelpful. There were lots of soldiers riding the airship, so she had a feeling that she would be seeing battle soon.

Another bite, she had been nursing this sandwich for the last thirty minutes and it still was not tasting any better. She hoped that, whatever this illness was, that she got over it as soon as possible.

She spotted several of the human soldiers suddenly running towards the viewing window. Then all of a sudden the airship shook. She gasped as she was thrown into one of the magitek armour suits close to her. Her face scrunched in pain and she let out a cry as her shoulder and hip took the brunt of her blow. Luckily her head was unharmed.

“W-What is happening?!” the airship shook again and she gripped hold of the armour to remain stable. She waited a few moments, when there seemed to not be any other shaking, she hastily ran to the window, a slight limp in her step.

Looking out of the window caused her to gasp. “Is that...” her eyes widened as they scanned over the sight of the Archaean fighting Noctis. She could see other Emperial soldiers flooding the scene. They seemed to be fighting both Noctis and the Titan. She watched in awe, he was huge, the raw power radiating from him. The airship rocked again from the force of the Titan's power. She cried out as she was flung back.

Hands caught her. “Careful Dear Ellie.” she heard the Chancellor say.

She looked up at Ardyn who was looking out of the window. “Such is the Power of a god.” he said with a small grin.

“Are we to fight him?” she asked as she pulled herself up to stand.

“No.” he placed a hand on her head and played with her hair. “That is not an encounter for us. Not today Dear girl.” he turned to her. “We will be picking some people up soon, see to their needs will you?” when she nodded he winked. “There's a good girl.” his eyes moved to the sandwich which was now on the floor. “Do eat something, not _that_ , but something.”

“I'll cook something the next chance I have.”

He nodded, satisfied with her answer. “Be ready, we'll be collecting our _guests_ soon.”

The _guests_ turned out to be Noctis and his entourage, and apparently 'picking them up' meant saving them from a life and death situation. The group in question did not appear happy with their situation, and were especially displeased with being stuck in the ship. Which while she understood, she felt was a little unfair, Ardyn had saved them, a thank you wouldn't go astray.

She walked over to the group, a bag in her hands. As she drew closer to them they looked up at her, she offered them a small smile. “Here, have something to drink and eat- build up your strength.” she opened the bag and passed each of them a bottle of water and a packaged sandwich.

“Thank you.” Ignis said evenly. The others nodded at her but said nothing, they seemed to be fuming- even Prompto who she had felt would have bee the more amicable of the group.

“Is there anything else that I can do for you?” she offered. “We should be arriving at your drop off point shortly.”

“Where's the Regalia!?” Gladio snapped stepping forward, his chest pushed out.

“Where are we? What are you guys planning?” Prompto added.

Noctis remained silent but he seemed to be agreeing with his friend's statements.

She straightened to her full height and felt her lips tighten. “While I understand your situation, and your frustrations,” she clenched her fist around the bag. “I am not the one you should be taking it out on, and I shall not stand here and take this.” she turned to leave, a hand touched her shoulder. She spun around, ready to argue, only to see Ignis looking at her apologetically.

“I apologise on my companions behalf. Please, do you know what happened to our car?”

She looked at him and contemplated whether or not to answer his question. She let out a sigh, she really did understand why they were as frustrated as they were and could not fault them. She nodded. “I don't know what happened to your car, and, Chancellor Izunia told me that we'll be dropping you off not to far from the chocobo ranch.”

Through the corner of her eyes, she noticed Prompto light up at the sound of the word 'Chocobo'.

“Chancellor Izunia?” Ignis questioned, his eyes flashing as he pieced things together.

She nodded. “Can I help you with anything else?”

“No, but... thank you for trying.” Noctis nodded at her before climbing up on a storage crate to sit.

She nodded and left the group to hunt down the Chancellor. It took her a few minutes, but she eventually found him filling out some paperwork by their car. “The Prince's group is getting restless.” she said as she moved to stand in front of him.

He looked up from his work. “Well we won't have to deal with them soon enough.” he went back to his paperwork. “Getting their nickers in a twist are they?” he added with a smile.

“I sympathise with them though,” she said, moving to lean against the car beside him. “Were I in their shoes, I don't know what I would do, or how I'd behave.”

“Who knows?” Ardyn shrugged. “No one knows how they react when things turn sour, it changes a person, body and soul.”

She eyed the Chancellor, something in his tone struck her. She bit her lip and reached over to touch his shoulder. When she felt him press back against her, she knew that she had done something for him, was _doing_ something for him.

_And she always would._


	9. Thunder and Lightening

Chapter Nine

 

Thunder and lightening

 

 

Elise let out a cry as she forced the bile out of her throat and into the toilet bowl that she was currently hugging- _hugging_ was the gentle term, clutching for dear life would be the more accurate phrase for what she was currently doing to the porcelain bowl. Her chest heaved as another wave of nausea hit and she was forced to lurch into the bowl again. It had been a week and her symptoms had not lessened or changed, she still struggled to smell foods and her appetite was, if nothing else, getting worse.

She spat and shakily rose from the floor as the urge to vomit left her. She wobbled as she walked to the sink and filled herself a cup of water. She had a drink before looking at herself in the mirror. Her green eyes were bloodshot and there were dark rings under her eyes. Her skin was pale and pallid, she looked terrible.

She shakily reached for her make-up bag and went about applying it in a way to hide her sickly face. She would perk up and feel better by the afternoon but it was always the same in the mornings, and whenever she ate something too fast, or to early in the day. She felt like she had lost weight as well, but she had not had access to scales so she had been unable to check- she felt that she was right though.

A crack of thunder from outside caused her to jump and nearly draw a line of eye-liner across her face.

Since they had dropped the Prince and his entourage off in the woods, it had been raining. That was a week ago and the storm hadn't seemed to ended, or shown any signs of slowing down. She finished applying her make up and put her things back in their bag. She made a mental note to purchase more the next time she was able and left the bathroom to go into the rest of their suite. They were staying in Lestallum for the moment, though Ardyn had told her that they would be leaving soon.

She put her things away and went about making breakfast, she could hear the Chancellor stirring in their bedroom so it was only a matter of time before he emerged. She pulled out some eggs and started to make omelettes. Her stomach rumbled while she cooked and she frowned, she wondered if she would be able to eat this morning, other days she hadn't been hungry, perhaps she was getting better?

“Good morning Ellie~” Ardyn practically sang as he strode into the room, he was dressed in his blue silk pyjamas and slippers- the only ones that he had packed, surprisingly.

“Good morning Sir.” she replied with a smile. “Would you like an omelette?”

He nodded and sat at the table and reached for one of the complementary magazines. “Oh my, someone's been doing well for themselves at the chocobo races.” he commented as he read a page. “Oooo~ a sale on hats...” he continued to casually flip through the pages.

She dished the food out onto two plates and brought them to the table. She then quickly made Ardyn some coffee and just a glass of water for herself. She moved back to the table and passed him his coffee. “We can go look at the hats?” she offered before sipping her water.

He flipped another page while he ate. He glanced up at her briefly before shrugging. “Alas, I feel that we won't have the time.” he sighed. “We have too much to do, and such little time.” another dramatic sigh and another flip of the page.

Ellie watched him while she nibbled on her omelette. Small bites assured that she would not have another sick moment. She watched as he placed the magazine on the table and turned his full attention to his food. She reached for the magazine and began to read it herself. She flipped idly through until she noticed a section on weapons. She touched the page and used her finger to scan over the page, her eyes, and finger resting on a mag rod. She looked it over, she had seen them before and had always found them fascinating. Perhaps one day she'd give it a try?

“Thinking about giving up your gun Ellie?” she looked up to see Ardyn watching her with a raised brow.

She shook her head. “I don't know how useful I'd be with a melee weapon.” flashes of her attacking the daemon with the pipe flashed before her eyes. “I'd probably be a burden on you again.”

He chuckled. “Your worry for my welfare is flattering.” he sipped his coffee. “Oh, I should tell you, dear girl, that I shall be away for three days.” at her eyes widening he raised a hand to silence her. “I've arranged for someone to look after you for the time and they'll escort you to meet me in three days time.”

“Who will be 'looking after' me?” she said evenly. She was a little offended that he was getting someone to look after her, did he not trust her by herself? She also wondered where he was going and why she was not to accompany him.

He smiled serenely at her. Something in his smile told her that he knew exactly what was bothering her. “Don't worry, Dear Ellie, your caregiver is someone you know, quite well if I may add.” he turned his attention back to his breakfast and seemed to have no interest in discussing the matter any further.

Her lips tightened but she chose not to say any more, for now at least. Ardyn was good at making it obvious when to drop topics, now was one of those moments, but she would bring it up at the next opportunity. She glanced back down at the magazine and flipped through the pages. A few moments passed as she looked at random articles and advertisements. Then a bright coloured page caught her attention, it was so colourful that there was no way that she could have passed the page. She scanned the page to try to discern what it was trying to sell it seemed to be an advertisement for flowers and chocolates.

'So if I were to buy these I'd be buying some flowers and chocolates for my...' she read the large gold font. “My Fluffy wuffy poopsie...” she read the last part aloud.

“Yes Schnookims?” Ardyn replied.

She jumped and looked up at him. He was grinning at her, it took her a moment to realise what was happening, but once she had, she let out a breath of air in laughter. “Very funny Sir.” she rested her forearms on the table and leaned forwards. “But if you ever call me  _Schnookims_ again, I may be forced to resign.”

He finished his breakfast and grinned at her. “Of course  _Schnookims._ ”

Her lips tightened for a few moments before she heard his laughter, which caused her to join.

 

X

 

A few hours later she was walking through the streets of Lestallum with Ardyn. She found herself in a heated discussion as to whether or not a feather was still acceptable to wear pinned to ones hat. How she ended up in such a discussion? She was unsure, but she was against the trend and he was in favour of it.

“Sir, feathers are gaudy as well as impractical- how would you go about doing your day to day life with feathers flapping across your face.” She purchased a bag of assorted nuts and opened it. She held the bag out to him an returned his smile as he took some.

“I didn't say it needed to be a hat covered in plumage, Dear girl, but a single or perhaps a few feathers can add a certain _touch_ to the garment. I do believe it's called accessorising dear.” Even though his voice was casual, there was a smugness to it. 

She ate some nuts and walked with him to another shop, one that was selling various fruits. She inspected the fruits and thought of some desserts that she could make from them. “Sir, what are you wearing that calls for a feather?” she turned to him incredulously. “Are you going to wear a bicorne and gallivant around as a pirate?”

“That's a _tricorn,_ Dear Ellie.” he grinned and paid the shopkeeper some gil for an apple. “And I think I'd make a fetching pirate.” a bite of his apple. “Don't you?”

She had absolutely no trouble picturing him in a pirate costume, standing at the helm of a ship, sailing about and scaring people for laughs. It was such a clear image in her mind, she was almost surprised that it was her imagination, rather than a memory. “I guess you're right sir.”

He patted her head with a chuckle. “I'm glad that you have conceded to your defeat.” he looked her up and down and grinned. “Perhaps we could get you a little tricorn as well, you could be my...  _cabin boy_ .” 

She felt her eyes roll at his lewd suggestion. “Sure, why not Sir.”

He chuckled and patted her back. “Come my Dear, I shall be leaving soon and our guest should be arriving soon enough,”

“You never did tell me who was to be my 'caretaker'?” If she were honest with herself, she was still quite annoyed with the fact that he felt that she needed someone to look after her. However she had already voiced her opinion and he had refused to budge so she remained silent on the matter.

“You'll meet them soon enough.”

Back at the hotel suite while she was preparing some coffee and lunch there was a knock at their suite door. She put her knife down on the bench. “I'll get it Sir.” she called out to Ardyn who was reading over some paperwork on the sofa. She walked to the door and pulled it open, her eyes widened.

“Loqi?” confusion laced her voice. What was he doing here?

He nodded at her. “Yes, that's me.” when she did not move he made an impatient gesture with his hands. “Well, can I come in? Or is my job as your  _caretaker_ to simply stand at this door for the next three days?”

She blinked and stepped aside, allowing him to walk in. “You're here for me?” she was confused, shouldn't he be fighting in the war? What was he doing  _babysitting_ her? She closed the door behind her and followed after him as he walked into the living room.

“Chancellor Izunia.” Loqi saluted to Ardyn. His voice was stiff, as though greeting him was the last thing that he wanted to do- it probably was.

“Ah Tummelt!” Ardyn pulled himself from the chair and walked over to Loqi. “How are you, well? That's good.” he clapped his hands together. “Now, you'll look after my Ellie, won't you? Of course you will.” he nodded and walked up to Ellie. He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned down so that their noses almost touched. “Take care- try not to get yourself killed,” his voice dropped lower. “I left a present on the bed for you.” he pulled back and turned to Loqi. “You know where to meet me in three days.”

Loqi nodded. “Sir.” again his voice was stiff.

Ardyn grinned. “Well then, with that taken care of,” he walked to the front door and open. “I shall see you in three days, bye-bye.” he glanced at Ellie. “Take care Schnookims!” he walked out of the suite, his laughter was heard through down the hallway as he walked.

She clenched her fists his 'nickname' and glanced up at her cousin who was staring at her with a raised brow. “ _Don't say a word._ ” she hissed. 

An eyebrow quirked. “ _Schnookims?_ ”

She stormed past him and plonked herself on the sofa. “I said, 'Don't say a word'!” she scowled at him. She saw his eyes flash with humour. “When did he ask you to 'watch me',” she asked, trying to change the subject. “why did he ask you to 'watch me'?”

“Well _Schnookims,_ ” he began, moving to sit on the armchair across from Ellie. He grinned at the expression on her face. “I was contacted seven days ago, by the Chancellor himself,” he crossed his legs and leaned back in the chair. “he asked me to watch you, _Schnookims,_ because he was leaving and you had been unwell lately. He wanted to make sure that someone was there for his _Schnookims_ and to make sure that his _Schnookims_ was safe.”

Her lips tightened at his continuous use of the name that she hated but she found herself smiling at the familiarity of the verbal sparring with him- she had missed this, his teasing, missed him. “The Chancellor was worried... for me?” she felt something in her chest warm at the thought.

Loqi nodded and kicked his foot nonchalantly. “He never used the word 'worried' but he did mention that you caught a bug and haven't been able to shake it.” he shrugged. “My magitek armour was...  _damaged_ recently, so I was available- I suspect that was why he asked me, only reason why I accepted as well.”

“The care that you have for me is astounding Loqi.” she said flatly, and when he stuck his tongue out at her she returned the gesture. She pulled herself up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen. “It'll be dinner soon, what do you want?”

“Should you be cooking? What with your _Illness_ and all?”

“The Chancellor has yet to get sick- though when I asked if he still wanted me to cook, he said that he never gets sick- which I suppose is correct.” she rested her hands on her hips. “Do you want to get take out instead?” She understood his opinion, had even suggested the same thing to Ardyn, it hurt her feelings, but she understood.

He sent her an incredulous look. “I most certainly would prefer to get take out- I don't want whatever you have.”

So that night they had pizza, It was a relatively silent affair, they had not spoken much to each other- possibly because of how long it had been since they last saw each other, or it could have been because of how tired Ellie was. Either way, once they had had their pizza, Ellie had said her goodnight to Loqi- who would be sleeping on the couch that night- and had gone to bed.

“What is that?” Ellie murmured as she closed the bedroom door behind her. On the bed was a metal rod, it looked like a baseball bat. She slowly walked to the bed and lifted it, upon closer inspection she noticed that it was one of those Mag-rods that she had seen in the magazine. What was it doing there? Her eyes widened as she remembered what Ardyn had said before he left, about _leaving_ something for her. Was this it? Had he bought it for her? If so when? She turned the rod around in her hands and examined it. He must have purchased it when they had had been in the shops earlier. 

A warm smile took her face as she looked down at the metal object. She gave it a few test swings and smiled at how lightweight and easy to move it was. She then found the way to activate and deactivate it's electronic pulse. By the end of her explorations, she was quite pleased with her gift. She placed it by the bedside table and changed into her pyjama's. It was only eight, but she was tired- she could hear Loqi watching television in the other room but that did not bother her, if she could sleep in the car, some television sounds would not bother her.

She climbed into the bed and switched the lamp beside her off. She then reached blindly for the pillow that the Chancellor had been using for the last few days. She clutched it to her chest and inhaled. It still smelled of him. She closed her eyes and smiled. It was only a few days after all.

_The scent of the pillow helped her those two nights._

 

X

 

Loqi woke to the sounds of his cousin being sick. He jolted from his position on the couch and nearly tumbled as the blanket wrapped around his legs. He looked around, expecting to see Ellie, but all he could see was a plate with half eaten toast on the counter. He frowned, Chancellor Izunia had said that she was unwell, but he hadn't thought it was all that true, she certainly had not seemed unwell the night before.

He pulled himself from the couch and walked into the kitchen area. He looked at the jam toast that she had been eating. It looked perfectly safe, he lifted the toast and sniffed it- it certainly smelled like regular toast. She must have caught something, she had never had allergies before so he could only hazard guesses at what the problem was.

He turned his attention to the coffee machine and went about making his breakfast coffee. While he did this, he heard the sounds of the toilet flushing. Apparently Ellie had finished. He listened to the sound of the shower running and had some of his drink. “At least she's cleaning herself.” he said to himself before making himself some toast.

Some time later, while he was eating his toast at the table, he heard the door to the bedroom open with a click. He looked up and nodded to his cousin as she waved at him. He watched her as she walked across the room to the kitchen. She started preparing herself some toast. He watched as she moved around, she was slower than she usually was, as though she was in a daze. He frowned and sipped his drink.

“Did you sleep well Loqi?” he looked up as she called out to him.

A nod. “Well enough, the sofa is better than the bedrolls on the airship.” he gestured to her. “What about you, Dear Cousin? How do you sleep without the Chancellor?” he hadn't expected her to respond to his question, so when she did he was shocked.

“I do miss him, but when we're at home we don't share so I'm used to it.” she buttered her toast and walked over to sit beside him. When she noticed his expression she raised a brow. “What?”

He shook his head. “I did not expect for you to answer me so honestly- the Elise that I grew up with would have thrown something at me.”

She sighed and ran her hand through her still wet hair. “Well it's early, I might still throw something at you.” she let out a chuckle. “Honestly though, you already know, what's the point in lying to you?”

He watched as she nibbled on her toast. She was so very different to the girl who had lived with him all of those years ago. She seemed more mature than she had been before, perhaps staying with the Chancellor had matured her? It was a strange sight to behold. He scanned her face too, she looked more matured than she had been before- she also looked tired, but given what she had just been doing, that made sense.

“Would you like to do anything today?” he asked her, not that he cared, if she wanted to hang around the hotel until he took her to the Chancellor, she could, it would be damn boring though.

She glanced up at him briefly for some time as though she were in thought over something. “Well, I...” she looked down at her plate then back up at him. “Would you do me a favour?”

He raised a brow. “Oh? And just  _what_ can I do to help you?” he rested his forearms on the table and leaned forward.

She shot him a look before she taking another nibble at her food. “Can you...” she shook her head and kept her eyes on her plate. “Can you please teach me how to fight?”

His brow rose higher. Well  _that_ was unexpected. In all of the time that he had known her, she had never shown any real interest in combat. Nothing past the basic gun training that his father, her Uncle, had forced upon her. “Have you anything specific that you wish to learn?” they only had limited time after all.

“I um, hang on.” she pulled herself from the chair and rushed back to the bedroom, she came back almost instantly after, carrying a Mag-rod. “I want to learn how to use this.” she held it out to him.

He stared at the instrument and reached for it. It was a good model, he noted as he took it into his hands. “Did the Chancellor buy this for you?” he asked as he clutched it correctly. He gave it an experimental swing, it was light. “You'll be able to do some damage with this.” he glanced at her, his brow creasing as he raised his brow. “You want to learn how to fight? You, Miss 'I want to be an assistant'?”

She glared. “Why is that so hard to believe?” she held her hand out. “Fine, give it back, I'll work it out for myself.” she reached for it and he held it away from her. “Give it back!” she grumbled and jumped for it, only to have him step away from her each time. “Give it back! Loqi!”

He laughed and held it out to her. “Fine, I'll help you.” he looked her up and down. “Go get changed into something suitable for combat, we can go when you're ready.”

She looked down at herself, then gestured with her hands. “What is wrong with this?”

He let out and sucked in a breath of laughter. “You're wearing a skirt, a white dress blouse and a jacket- I wouldn't be fighting in that.” he looked her up and down, seriously, it was just impractical.

She sighed. “Fine, but I'll just change into pants, for the most part I'll be fighting in clothes like this, it would make sense to get used to it.”

She had a point, Loqi agreed, but it was still a silly idea to go into combat wearing a skirt. “Fine, do as you please. It doesn't bother me.” It did. The clothes one wore could be the difference between living and dying on the battlefield. He watched as she ran off into the bedroom again.

While she was gone he placed the rod on the table and examined it. The Chancellor had purchased it for her, that much was obvious. But why? Had he done it so that she could protect herself? That was possible, they were in the middle of a war, but he never really picked the Chancellor as someone who would care for the well being of his subordinates- especially since he had seen first hand how he treated the M.T's.

“There, I put some pants on.” Ellie said as she walked back into the room.

“Well then.” Loqi rose from the chair and clasped his hands together. “Well then, _Schnookims_ , let's get to training!”

 

X

 

Ellie panted as she swung the rod at her cousin. When he dodged easily she made a sound of annoyance and went for him again. He again dodged her and seemed to be laughing at her while he did so. She jumped back as he moved to strike her with the training sword. “You're good at dodging.” she gasped as she moved back to take a moments breathe. The fact that it was still raining made the experience all the more harder.

“Thanks.” He said simply before charging at her.

“Loqi!” she jumped back and scrambled to get away. “I need a moment!” she jumped again as he charged at her.

“In battle one does not get rest.” Loqi said in a deep voice, an impersonation of his father. He raised the wooden sword to strike her.

“I need a minute.” she complained as she raised the rod to block the attack. “We've been doing this for hours now.” she pushed the sword away before bringing the rod down at his side.

Loqi barely dodged, the stick nearly hitting his side. “You've gotten better, we can go and get some dinner if you like?”

She wiped some sweat from her brow and nodded. “Has it been that long?” her stomach rumbled. “I need to eat.” she walked up to him. “Can we get pizza, I have the oddest craving. Plus, I think that we've worked out enough to deserve it.”

He smirked. “We can, but, I'm training you again tomorrow, can you deal with a work out after a night of pizza?”

She waved him off and headed for his black car. “I'll live, future me won't be happy, but I want that damn pizza.”

He followed after her, his head thrown back with laughter.

 

X

 

Back at the hotel, and after a hot shower she finished the day snuggled under a blanket on the sofa. She pulled a slice of pizza from the box on the living room table, and held it to her mouth. “Oh my pizza goddess, bless this wonderful greasy bounty before me.”

She heard Loqi laugh as he came to sit on the armchair across from her. He had a beer in one hand and he reached for some pizza with the other. “You know that there is no goddess of pizza, right?”

She held the pizza away from him as though it were a child that needed protecting. “Shh! Don't say that, the pizza doesn't need to hear that.” she took a bit of her food. “Oh my gosh this is phenomenal!” she chewed her food and moaned, she loved the taste of it, grease and all.

“Don't throw it back up.” Loqi commented. “I paid for that.”

“Oh I wouldn't worry, I tend to feel better at night.” she said dismissively. “I feel great right now actually, even after you beat me up.” she gestured to her arm. “Have you seen the bruises that you've given me?”

“You'll get more tomorrow.” He said with a smirk, while he made a mental note about her 'illness'.

She groan and sunk into the couch. “Just let me not think about it, okay?” she reached for the remote and turned on the television. “Hey, is that...” her eyes widened and she grinned. “Look Loqi!” she pointed to the screen. “Remember this from when we were kids?”

He looked at the screen where there was a man in armour fighting a big red dragon while protecting the sorceress behind him. It was a movie that they had watched together many times when they were younger. “I haven't thought of this movie in years.”

She grinned. “Let's watch!”

He returned her smile and the pair watched the film together.

 

_The next day Ellie most definitely ended up covered with bruises._

 

X

 

Ellie carried the suitcases into the living room. There was a limp to her step from the training the day before. She tried to ignore it, but that was a hard task given that her entire body ached. In all of her years of working for Ardyn and everything that he had made her do, never had she been in as much pain as she was now. The closest comparable pain would be when the daemon had attacked her, but that was a different kind of pain. She frowned at  _that_ memory.

“Stop laughing at me.” she glared at Loqi.

“I can't help it. You're so easy to laugh at.” he countered as he took the bags from her.

“Thanks...” she smiled weakly at him. “Is it still raining out there?” she asked and when he nodded in response she frowned. “This isn't normal. I wonder what the cause of this is.”

Loqi shrugged. “Who knows? Could just be the world trying to piss off everyone who's trying to fight a war- nothing worse than fighting in the rain.”

Ellie sighed and nodded. “You're probably right. Anyway should we get going?” she walked to the front door.

“You want to get back to your Chancellor, _Schnookims_?” he teased. 

Ellie stuck her tongue out. “Let's just go.”

Ten minutes later the pair were in Loqi's black car, driving towards the base where they were to meet Ardyn. Ellie watched as a light drizzle of rain tapped against the window. It seemed to be getting lighter the longer that the drove and then after another ten minutes of driving, it stopped all together. “Such strange weather...” she commented.

“Makes you miss home, doesn't it?” Loqi commented. “At least back home, the weather is reliable.”

“At least it stopped. It's been raining so much lately.” she mumbled. As she watched a herd of animals running through the field. “How much longer until we're there?” she looked up at the dark sky, why Ardyn had asked Loqi to take her to the base so late was beyond her- he knew how she felt about the night time and daemons.

“Why did The Chancellor ask you to take me so late?” she asked as she saw what appeared to be a daemon – an imp?- chasing a chocobo. She frowned, poor Chocobo.

Loqi shrugged. “I don't know, all I know is that he paid me to look after you and escort you. I'm not going to ask questions.” he suddenly slowed the car down and leaned forward against the steering wheel to look out of the window. “What...”

Ellie looked at him then looked at where he was looking. It was the base, it seemed to be on fire and lighting up as though explosives were going off. Her heart stopped. “Is that where you are taking me?” she asked quietly. When he didn't answer her and the car stopped, she asked again, louder this time. “Is that where you are taking me Loqi!?”

“Not anymore.” he shook his head and put the car in reverse. “I'm getting you back to Lestallum.”

Her heart pounded in her ears. The Chancellor was there. Ardyn was there. What id something had happened to him- was happening to him? She shook her head. No. she couldn't allow that. Couldn't bare that. “You need to stop the car Loqi.”

He shook his head while he did a U-turn. “No, you need to get back to town- safe.”

She reached for her Mag rod. “Now.”

“No.”

Her breathing became heavy and she started to shake. She had to get out of the car. She gripped the door handle. She had to get out. She had to get to Ardyn. She unplugged herself and flung the door open. She ignored Loqi's indignant cry and leaped from the car. She grunted as she landed on the road and rolled.

“Elise!” she heard her cousin cry.

She let out a hiss and pulled herself up to stand. “I'm going!” she called out and charged towards the base. She clutched the rod tightly as she ran. She was going to get there, she had to.

“Elise! Get back here!” she looked back to see Loqi chasing after her on foot. She had the time advantage, but because she had a limp, he had a good chance of catching up to her. She clutched the rod tighter and surged forwards. She wasn't going to stop. She wasn't.

Then the earth shook.

She froze.

The sky filled with lightening and storm clouds.

Then it came.

A god.

She gasped as she watched the elder god, illuminated by lightening, raise his rod high then throw it to the ground. The earth shook and light up from the power. She trembled and held herself to stop herself from falling due to the might of the power.

Then it stopped and the world went back to normal.

A hand grabbed her shoulder. “You are going back to the car and we are taking you back to town. Now.” his voice left no room for argument.

But Ellie argued. “I am going.” she pulled herself from him and waved her Mag-Rod at him to create some distance, and then she started towards the base. The need to get there stronger than before. She had to know that he was okay. Her heart continued to thrum in her ears.

“Elise!” Loqi chased after her. But she did not stop, even when the reached the base that looked as though a war had happened there, which it had. She heard the sound of a car and gasped as the Regalia, filled with the Prince and his group, drove past them. She locked eyes with them and held their gazes as they drove past and out of the base.

“ _Them_.” she heard Loqi say. “So _that's_ what happened.”

“Where is the Chancellor?” she said quietly, looking around at the carnage. “Where is Ardyn!” she ran into the base, calling his name as she searched for him. She prayed that nothing had happened to him while she searched. She begged whatever deity would listen to her. “S-Sir!” she coughed as she ran. “Sir!” she ran blindly, her eyes wild and red as she searched for him. She tripped over and M.T's body and collapsed to the ground. She clutched her knees and let out a sob. “A-Ardyn!?”

“Ellie?” her heart stopped.

She looked up blearily. There he was. Standing not ten feet away from her. She pulled herself up and charged at him. She briefly saw what appeared to be Ravus while she ran, but she ignored him, he wasn't important. Not to her. The one who was important was...

“Sir!” she all but crushed herself to him. Her arms wound around him tightly, as though he were a life line. She buried her face into his chest and inhaled. It was him. It was him. “You're safe!” she sobbed.

A hand touched the back of her head. “I'm alright Dear Ellie.”

“I saw the god use his power and... and...” she was shaking.

“I'm alright. Death is not in the cards for me, not yet.”

“Sir.” Loqi said as he walked up to the three. “I tried to stop her. She hit me with her Mag-Rod,” he gestured to his face where there was now a red mark that was starting to bruise on his cheek. He glanced at Ellie briefly before continuing. “She is very loyal to you.”

Ellie felt Ardyn chuckle. “She got you good.” he patted her head. “Ellie Dear, have you seen your cousin's face?”

She pulled back and looked up at his face. “No Sir,” she turned her head back and looked at her cousin. “Oh Loqi... I'm sorry.”

He crossed his arms. “I'll not try to keep you safe next time, I hope that you know that.”

She nodded and pulled back from Ardyn. She then proceeded to look him over for injuries. While she did that Ravus started to walk away. “As charming as this all is, I have pressing matters to attend to. Chancellor Izunia, good day.”

“Goodbye, do keep yourself safe!” Ardyn chuckled, then turned his attention to Ellie. “Truthfully, I am safe Ellie.”

She let out a shaky breath and stepped back. “I'm glad, I was so worried Sir.”

He ruffled her hair before cupping her face. “You need not worry, I shall be fine.” he clasped his hands together and smiled. “Shall we head to a rest stop and get some sleep? The car is over there,” he gestured in a direction to the side. “We'll get your things and go?”

She nodded. “I'd like that Sir.”

He smiled at Ellie then turned his attention back to Loqi. “Thank you for looking after our Ellie, I hope that she wasn't  _too_ much trouble.”

A laugh. “Just a rod to the face, nothing to bad.”

She blushed and covered her face. “I'm sorry.”

Ardyn Let out a laugh and patted her back. “Come Ellie, but please do refrain from bludgeoning us with your weapon.” he walked ahead with Loqi and laughed at her.

“I'm sorry! I was just worried about you!” she followed after them.

_And she always would worry, no matter what._


	10. Lending a Hand

Chapter Ten

 

Lending a Hand

 

 

Ellie took a shaky breath as she leaned over the fire. They were camping at a camping ground for the night and she was trying to cook their dinner. Trying being the key word. The heat from the fire was going to her head and making her woozy. She turned the bubbling broth, the broth wasn't helping either, the smell going straight to her head.

“That smells amazing!” Ardyn praised while he set the tent up.

She turned to him and smiled before turning her attention back to the broth. She had been surprised when Ardyn had offered to put up the tent. He had never done it before, mostly because she had always just done it before he even had a chance to offer. She wasn't ungrateful, on the contrary, she was feeling quite tired today and the extra help was much appreciated.

She hadn't stressed over her illness for some weeks now, simply because it had gone away confirming her thoughts that it was a bug. But in the last three days it had seemingly come back in the form of nausea. Which made her wonder if it wasn't the same illness, but some new bug that she had caught- it was possible, she had been stressing about the war lately and she had never spent as much time out on the road as she had been. Perhaps she was not used to the foods that she had been preparing? Maybe they weren't agreeing with her? Perhaps it was a symptom of stress?

She moved the broth away from the fire and set it on a flat rock to cool. “It's ready Sir.” she called out to him and reached for two bowls that were beside the rock. She filled the bowls with some food and walked them over to the boulder that they were using as a table for the night. “It's hot, give it a minute.” she said.

Ardyn finished putting the tent up and walked over to their makeshift table. He sat on the ground across from her. “Thank you Ellie!” he smiled and reached into his jacket, he proceeded to pull out what appeared to be a crossword puzzle book. He picked up his spoon and stirred his food to cool it while he read over the first crossword. “That would be gysahl.” he pulled a pen from a pocket and penned the answer in.

Ellie leaned over and glanced down at the page. She read through the list. “I believe that twelve down is grievous.”

He looked down at twelve down. “Thank you Dear.” he jotted the answer down.

She smiled and blew on her food to cool it down. She loved moments like this, moments of domesticity where they just sat together and did simple things like going over paperwork, or reading books or doing just random things, not even necessarily together. It was nice. It made her remember the simpler times. She smiled and ate her meal.

Later, after they had eaten, Ellie climbed into the tent and was lying on the bedroll reading a book. It was one that she had not read in the longest time. Her eyes flashed as she thought about the last time she had even looked at the book, it had been the first time that she and Ardyn had been intimate. It was the book that he had read on her bed. She blushed and tried not to think about the memory while she read. Ardyn was still doing his crossword outside so she was going to take the time to enjoy her book.

'Oh Jose...' she smiled as the protagonist met his love interest for the first time.

Hours later, she jolted awake as Ardyn climbed into the tent. “I-I what?” she blinked her sleep away. “Oh Sir...” she relaxed and patted for her book as she remember what she had been doing before she fell asleep. She sat up again when she was unable to find it she looked over to Ardyn to see him dangling it before her, a grin on his face.

“Still reading this one are we?” he asked smoothly. “Such naughty things...” he tutted and pulled the book away when she reached for it.

“Sir, give it back please.” she reached helplessly for it. She knew that she wasn't going to get it, he had his teasing eyes tonight- she'd have to work for it. “I'm... I _like_ that book.”

He chuckled. “Oh, I bet you do Ellie.” he leaned back and flipped open the book to a random page. “Jose cackled in laughter as the other prisoners assaulted the younger one with mops. I watched in horror and fascination as Io seemed to be enjoying it, he gasped and was moving his hips to create friction-” he glanced up at Ellie with wide eyes and the hint of a smirk on his lips. “Dear Ellie, sweet innocent, Ellie...” his chuckle turned dark. “Only you're not innocent are you?” he placed the book to the side and beckoned her with a curled finger.

She smiled at him and crawled towards him. His grasped her chin and pulled her closer. She continued to move until she was nearly in his lap. She reached forward and placed her hands on his thighs as she lifted her face to his. Her smile widened as his eyes darkened and she brushed her lips against his. He made a pleased sound and she pressed forwards, pushing harder against him. Her hands kneaded his thighs and she felt a hand reach up to pull the tie out of her hair, the hand then buried itself in her hair. She moaned as the fingers threaded themselves through the locks. She pulled away from his lips and moved her attentions to his neck.

“Is that how it is Dear?” he let out a breathy chuckle and leaned back, allowing her access.

“Would you like me to stop?” she mumbled against his neck.

She heard him chuckle but he said nothing. She reached for his shirt and begun undoing the buttons as she nibbled the skin of his neck. The hand in her hair rubbed soothing circles. She pulled back from his neck and finished undoing the buttons on his shirts. She heard him suck in air as her fingers came into contact with his chest. She closed her eyes and felt warmth bloom in her chest, she loved being able to make sounds like that come from him. She leaned forwards and licked a line up his chest, she felt more than heard his gasp. Though he was not vocal, she loved every sound, every twitch that he made. It was a stark comparison to when he was in control, when she was in control he was silent and barely made sounds, but when it was him, when it was he that was dominating, he was loud and enjoyed teasing her.

She looked up at him and saw him watching her intensely. She reached for the buckle of his pants. “Enjoying yourself, Sir?” she asked with a tilt of her head and a coy tone to her voice.

He smiled. “I think I am, Dear Ellie.”

_He most certainly did._

 

X

 

Elise awoke with a start. She grasped at her chest as she gasped air in and out of her lungs. She clutched at her chest as the her surroundings began to spin. 'Oh no.' she thought as she started to shake, bile pooled at the back of her throat and she scrambled to get out of the tent. Once out of the tent she was able to run twenty paces away before lurching into a bush. At first she was standing by the bush but soon enough she was holding onto ground and leaning into it to be sick.

She was there for a total of ten minutes before the need to be sick went away. She spat at the ground and wiped the tears from her eyes. “This needs to stop.” she murmured as she pulled herself up to stand. With legs like jelly she headed back to the tent.

She crept quietly into the tent where Ardyn was sleeping peacefully, a gently snore coming from him. She smiled, he was so adorable when he slept. She quietly pulled a bottle of water from her bag and moved quietly back out of the tent. She went back to the bush and rinsed her mouth out. When she felt that she was clean, she went back to the camp and started a fire so that the could re-heat the broth from the night before.

An hour later, when the food was ready and Ellie was dressed, Ardyn emerged from the tent. “Good morning Ellie~” He all but sang, he was in a good mood it seemed.

“Good morning, Sir.” She greeted serving his food into a bowl. “Breakfast.” she set the food out on their 'table rock'.

“Thanks Ellie.” he started to eat. While eating he noticed Ellie walking around getting everything ready for their departure. “Have you eaten already?” he asked.

Ellie paused. “I... I'm not hungry Sir, I'll eat a granola bar when I do.” she went back to packing away.

“Hn.” she didn't see it, but she could _feel_ his eyes boring into her.

“Where are we headed today?” she called over her shoulder in an attempt to change the subject.

“I'm taking you to an excavation site, you'll be helping out there and I'll pick you up in a few days.”

She frowned, she did not feel comfortable with that happening, especially after the last time she had left him. “I see...” she turned to him and found him watching her intensely. “Where are you going Sir?”

He made a sound in the back of his throat. “I have some business to attend- war things, dull and boring.” he reached for his food and ate. “I think that I'd rather be helping with the dig to be honest.” he winked at her.

She walked up to him and offered him more, when he turned her down she went about cleaning the food scraps away. Once that was done she started on the tent. “As soon as the tent is done we leave.” she jumped and looked over to see Ardyn helping her disassemble the tent.

“Thank you.” she smiled.

 

X

 

Ellie sighed as she leaned her elbow on the door of the car and rested her chin in her palm. They had been in the car for over and hour and she was feeling tired. No, tired was not the accurate term. She was anxious. She felt as though things were happening that she had no control over, more so than usual. Ardyn seemed to be hiding things from her and if that wasn't enough to stress about, there was her mystery illness. She needed to go to a doctor, she knew, but she didn't want to think about what the result could be.

“ _Well he certainly wanted it to happen to the Chancellor's assistant, whatever it was.”_ her eyes widened as a memory flashed before her eyes. Her stomach twisted painfully. Had Besithia done something to her? Was this why she was feeling sick? What was happening to her? Panic began to fill her, her palms began sweating and she could hear the sound of blood pumping in her ears. 

What was happening?

What was wrong with her?

What was happening?

“We're here!” Ardyn announced, snapping her from her thoughts.

She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and then released before looking around at their surroundings. The appeared to be in a forest that looked like it was crossed with some sort of swamp. It was damp and cold. She looked over to Ardyn who was climbing out of the car and followed after him. While they walked she looked at her surroundings. She could see a large castle-like structure, the blueish grey stones shining brightly in the sun. There was something hauntingly beautiful about the structure.

“Highwind!” she heard Ardyn say. She turned her attention back to the Chancellor and saw him walking towards Aranea Highwind.

“Chancellor Izunia.” The commodore tilted her head to him. Her eyes landed on Ellie. “Miss. Tummelt.”

“Commodore.” Ellie returned the greeting.

“To what do we owe this pleasure?” Aranea asked as she folded her arms across her chest.

Ardyn placed a hand on Ellie's shoulder and moved her closer to them. “Ellie will be staying to help you with your investigative work.” he patted her back. “I'm sure she'll be a valuable asset. I'll be back to collect her in a few days, I trust she'll be in one piece?”

Aranea nodded her head. “Of Course.” she glanced at Ellie briefly before looking back at Ardyn. “Is she able to defend herself? The ruins aren't exactly safe.”

Ardyn chuckled. “She certainly is, her cousin can attest to that.”

Ellie's cheeks reddened. “Sir!” she blanched, then scowled when he laughed at her.

“Right... Well when you are ready, we'll look after her.” Aranea nodded to them before turning and leaving to attend to the other soldiers who were running around the ruins.

“Sir?” Ellie turned to Ardyn, worry etched on her face. “Please be safe, I...” she wanted to ask him about Besithia, ask him his opinions on her _illness_ , but she couldn't find the words. She was unable to find the words, let alone say them. She shook her head. “Please be safe.”

He smiled at her and winked. “I'll be fine, you needn't worry.” he crossed his arms and let out a chuckle. “You however, need to take care not to bludgeon the others, we need them alive Dear Girl.” he winked at her.

“Sir!” she gasped indignantly before deflating. “I'll never outlive that, will I?”

He turned and started towards his car. “Who knows? Maybe if you hit me with your rod I'll forget?” he teased.

Ellie resisted the urge to stomp her foot. “Maybe I will when you get back!” she called out, causing him to throw his head back in laughter. She quickly chased him to the car and took her suitcases from the boot. When she was done he started the car and pulled out. She nodded to him in goodbye and she stayed and watched him as he drove away.

Once he was out of sight she turned away and headed to Aranea who was talking to two men in black coats. She cleared her throat to get their attention and once she had it, she spoke.

“Umm, where can I put my things? And what do you want, or need for me to do?” she smiled and straightened her back, in an attempt to be professional.

Aranea scratched her head and looked around the campsite. “Um.. you can set up in on one of the tents over there, we have one spare... I think...” she looked at the ruins. “As for what you'll be doing... well you can go in with us, make notes, see if there's anything that we haven't noticed. We'll also need assistance with the nasties in there, so bring your weapon.” she looked Ellie up and down. “You uh... do have a weapon, don't you?”

Ellie nodded. “Yes, a mag-rod.”

Aranea raised a brow. “Good. Well, go set yourself up, nothing happens here until nighttime.”

Ellie frowned. What did that mean? She walked over to the tents and went about finding out which one she could use. She had a feeling that these next few days were going to be long ones. Had she known how long, she probably would have taken longer naps during the day.

 

X

 

Ellie gasped as she walked through the barrier that, due to the moonlight, allowed her to pass through. The ruins were, beautiful. They held a dark coolness to them that was strangely inviting, she felt at home here. She could easily picture herself spending hours reading here. She picked up a stone from the rubble on the floor. The stone reminded her of the moon, the rock having a silvery shimmer to it.

“What do you think?” Aranea asked as she watched Ellie examine her surroundings.

Ellie put the rock back and looked up at the ceiling. “Perhaps the people who lived here believed the moon was a deity?” she looked at some small carvings on the wall, they reminded her of a lunar cycle. Whoever these people were, they certainly loved the moon.

“We suspected something similar when the temple only opened to the moonlight.” Aranea commented as she stepped towards Ellie. “You would need years to study it though, years that we don't have,” she tilted her head and gestured towards the depths of the temple. “the Empire is only interested in the mythril anyway.”

Ellie frowned. “Such a shame, when this war is over, I should like to come back here and study.” she looked up to the ceiling.

Aranea let out a snort. “You think that the Chancellor would let you?” she smirked as Ellie looked down at her. “I don't know how you do it, spend so much time with him, he gives me chills.”

Ellie felt her lips tighten and an urge to defend Ardyn too her. She straightened her back and rose to her full height. “If you have any problems with the Chancellor, I would prefer that you keep them to yourself.” she pinned the other with a look, her green eyes flashing. “You seem a nice enough person and I know that you're a professional so please, keep your opinions on Chancellor Izunia to yourself.”

Aranea's eyebrow's jumped at her words and she went quiet for some time, before she let out a breath of laughter and raised her hands defensively. “Alright, I'm sorry, truce?”

Ellie deflated, then nodded. “Okay.”

 

x

 

The next day when she came back to the camp after picking some herbs, she was shocked to see Noctis and his entourage talking to Biggs and Wedge. She nearly dropped her herbs in shock, but was able to save herself and started to walk to them. Prompto was the first to notice her, his face lighting up- and going a little red- as he saw her.

“Hey Ellie!” he ran over to her.

“Hello Prompto.” she looked over to see Noctis and Ignis walk over to her, she noticed that they were missing Gladio. She greeted the other two before enquiring. “Are you missing someone?”

“Yeah, Gladio had something to do.” Noctis answered as he scratched his head- a nervous habit? Or just something he did a lot?

Ellie nodded and did not ask any further. “What are you guys doing here?” she asked instead.

“We need some Mythril, Chancellor Izunia took us here so that we could get some.” Ignis answered.

Ellie jumped at his words. Ardyn had been there? She was a little hurt that he had not come to say hello to her. Perhaps he was busy? But even still... she shook her head. “Was he well?” she asked.

“We do not know him as well as you,” Ignis began. “but he seemed well enough.”

Ellie smiled, glad that he was okay. She glanced down at her watch, it was still the day, they would be waiting a long time if they wanted the mythril. “You know that you'll be waiting a til nightfall if you want to get the mythril?”

Noctis nodded, a bored expression on his face. “Yeah, do you know what we can do til then? I wouldn't say no to a nap.” he leaned back and crossed his leg- how he did that without leaning on something and without falling was beyond her.

She pointed to the camp. “You can nap if you want, you can even borrow my tent.” she pointed to a tent close to a tree. “That's mine, you're welcome to it.”

Noctis nodded gratefully. “Hey thanks.” he walked off towards the tent.

Prompto looked out towards the fishing spot. “Hey, do you think I could get some nice photo's out there?” he pointed. “I'm going to go look.” he ran off before Ellie could say anything.

She watched Prompto run off before turning to Ignis. She lifted the hand that was holding the herbs and gestured to the patch of herbs and wild vegetable growing in the distance. “Would you like to help me get something for dinner?”

He nodded. “That would be nice.” he followed her to the growing patch. When the reached the area he went about picking some berries from a bush. “How long have you been working for the Chancellor?” he asked trying to make conversation. He tried not to wince as images of Ellie and Ardyn doing  _things_ the night that he had seen them.

“A few years now.” Ellie replied as she picked some mint, she lifted it to her nose and inhaled. “The Chancellor loves mint tea.” she smiled warmly as she thought about making him his tea before bed each night.

“What do you do for the Chancellor?” Ignis asked, he wanted to know about the woman across from him. She was so pleasant and kind, the polar opposite to the Chancellor who was unsettling and had an aura that was, in his opinion, cruel.

“I could ask you the same thing about the Prince.” she replied, turning to him with a wryly smile. “I rather think we're quite similar.”

He tilted his head and returned the smile. “Touche.”

“How long have you known the Prince?” she asked as she picked some wild onions. She placed them in a basket that she had left there earlier and mentally planned the stir fry that she was going to cook for dinner. She looked back at Ignis as he answered her question.

“I've known Noct... most of my life.” he went quiet and smiled as he thought about there first meeting, when they were children. Ellie watched the smile with sharp eyes, calculating eyes. “We were children when we first met, I've been with him since.”

Ellie let out a laugh, when he sent her a confused look she raised a hand while she finished her chuckle. “Another thing we have in common.” she smiled at him and picked some greens. “I met The Chancellor when I was a child too, he was... my friend, my only friend really- except maybe Loqi.”

“Loqi?” Ignis' brow rose above his glasses.

“My cousin.” Ellie answered.

“Ah.”

“Well I think that we have enough.” Ellie changed the subject. She lifted the basket and walked over to Ignis so that he could deposit his findings to it. “Shall we get ready for the evening?”

 

X

 

“Wonderful, isn't it?” Ellie asked Ignis as they walked through the temple.

Ignis nodded. “It is, I am surprised at how beautiful this place is, I am at ease, it makes me wonder when the monsters will appear.”

“Please don't say that-” it was then that the monster's made their presence known. “Iggy!” Ellie laughed before pulling out her Mag-rod.

“I don't see what's so funny!” Prompto snapped as he pulled out his gun.

“It's-” Ellie shook her head and smacked a skeleton creature in the head. “Never mind, let's just deal with this!” she proceeded to bludgeon the monster in front of her, while the others attacked the other creatures. She jumped back as the creature slashed it's clawed hands at her. “Die!” she shouted as she moved for another attack. After a few more hits, the creature perished.

“Iggy!” Noctis shouted. Ellie looked over and watched as Ignis rushed over to the Prince, threw him a potion, checked that he was okay, and then helped him kill the creature.

“Thanks Iggy.” Noctis said as Ignis walked over to him. He clasped a hand on Ignis' shoulder and smiled at his friend.

Ellie watched keenly as Ignis smiled back. Her eyes narrowed before she raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. Once everyone was checked and okay, they continued on through the ruins. As they progressed, Ellie took note of how the three fought and she noticed a few things, Prompto as the ranged attacker was good at what he did, and Noct would occasionally call on him, but it was Ignis who the Prince relied on the most. Ellie also noticed that Ignis was always close to Noctis, constantly ready to offer him assistance. It was interesting to observe, to say the least.

The deeper they went into the temple, the more dangerous the monsters became. Then it happened, while they were walking through a corridor, there was a sound, like metal scraping, then she heard Ignis let out an indignant cry of 'Noct!'. She turned to see the Prince trapped and fighting a monster. She pulled at the bars that were blocking them from Noctis, they did not give. She glanced at Prompto who was lining a shot at the monster and Ignis who had gone pale and was trying with everything he had to move the bars. She and Aranea looked around for some way to deactivate the trap, only there did not seem to be anything- Ellie wondered what the original purpose of this trap was.

Eventually, once Noctis had killed the monster, the trap deactivated itself, allowing Ignis and Prompto to rush the Prince. Ellie watched as Prompto patted him on the shoulder and asked if he was alright, while Ignis had a potion ready and was fussing to ensure that Noctis was alright. She smiled while she watched them, it seemed that she had more in common with Ignis than she thought.

“Yo can we have a rest? A few minutes maybe?” Prompto looked over to Aranea.

The commodore nodded. “I know a place.”

The room with the lake on the ceiling was beautiful, Ellie thought as she walked to the railing to gaze upon it. She wanted to reach out and touch it, it was enchanting, so peaceful, so  _wonderful._ She glanced over to see Prompto taking photo's of the water scene, Aranea cleaning her weapons and Ignis helping Noctis patch up a cut on his arm. She smiled and looked back at the fish swimming above her. 

“It is lovely, is it not?” she heard a voice say some time later.

She turned to see Ignis standing beside her. She nodded and leaned her forearms against the stone railing. “It's beautiful, I wish that Ardyn was here.” she said softly, forgetting to use his title.

“Forgive me for being presumptuous,” Ignis leaned against the railing beside her. “but how long have you been in love with the Chancellor?”

The question made Ellie pause.  _When had she developed those feelings for him?_ She had loved him for so many years that she could hardly pinpoint when it had happened. It had been like a flower, growing steadily over it's lifetime until is suddenly exploded in a bloom of colour. She turned her head so that their eyes locked. “I don't know,” she said honestly. “You could say that I always have. I could say the same for you though, how long have you felt that way for your Prince?” 

She could see his eyes widen through the glasses. “I'm sorry?” confusion laced his voice, which matched his face.

“You didn't know... did you?” she said quietly. She reached out and touched his bicep and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I'm sorry...”

“Noctis is getting married to Lunafreya.” Ignis said simply.

“That's not what I asked, or was talking about.” she turned to him. “It's okay, I won't say anything, you're secret's safe with me.”

“I did not agree to your insinuation.” There was an inflection to Ignis' voice, it said more than the man intended.

“But you didn't disagree.” she shook her head. “It's alright, I'll protect your secret, we can be fools in love together.” she smiled warmly at him.

“We'll head off now!” Aranea called out, gaining the attention of the four.

The rest of their trek through the temple seemed to relatively normal, there were still monsters, of course, but now that they knew how to handle them, it was simple enough. That is until they reached the Quetzalcoatl. The blue creature was not as easy as the other creatures had been. Mainly because it was hard to land a blow because each time that they got close to it, it would fly off. They were eventually able to damage the wings enough that the creature was forced to land. Except now they had to deal with it's claws.

Ellie grunted as she jumped out of the way of the creature's tail. “Oh no...” she breathed as she tasted bile building up in her throat. Now was  _not_ the time for her to be feeling sick. She jumped out of the tail again and the taste hit the back of her tongue, she spat in an attempt to alleviate the urge. 

“Iggy!” She heard Prompto call. She looked over and saw the man in question pinned to the ground by the beast.

“Ignis!” she clutched her rod and charged. Being the closest to him it made sense for her to charge, but that wasn't the reason she put herself in the way of the beast. As she saw Ignis on the floor she was filled with a protectiveness. He was her friend, she hadn't known him long but she felt a bond to him. He was a wonderful person and she was going to help him, he deserved it.

She smacked the rod into the creature's foot, causing it to let out a shriek which rang in her ears, causing her to flinch. But it did not deter her, she continued to attack the creature. She switched on the electric pulse and went crazy as she hit it. She did not stop when it released Ignis, she continued to charge at it. Her crazed charge distracting the creature and giving the other's an opening which they used to finish the creature off.

When it died, Ellie pulled herself back with a gasp. She dropped her rod as her body trembled, adrenaline pulsing in her ears. She felt the bile rise and before she knew what she was doing, she had ran to a corner of the room and was emptying the contents of her stomach onto the floor.

She let out a shaky breath and pushed her hair behind her as she lurched again. She could hear voices, some of them talking about mythril but she couldn't focus on them. She gagged as the taste filled her mouth again and she collapsed onto her knees. She jumped as she felt a hand touch her back and start to rub soothing circles.

“It's alright,” she heard Ignis say. “I have a potion and some water for when you're ready.”

She spat at her pile and turned to look at the man kneeling beside her. “Thank you...” she said shakily. “Can I please have the water? Thank you.” she said as he passed her the water.

“Are you alright?” he asked, worry etching his face.

She shook her head. “I don't know...”

“Hey you alright?” she heard Prompto call out.

She moved to stand, grateful as Ignis helped her. “Yeah,” she called out, her voice croaking. “J-just not used to killing things...” she felt Ignis tense beside her, he knew that she was lying. When he didn't call her out, she was instantly relieved. “If you have what you came for, can we head out? I could use a nap.”

Noctis nodded.

 

X

 

Ellie spat into the water as she rinsed her mouth out. It was the morning when they had left the temple and she was now by the fishing spot, it had been ten minutes since they had emerged and she had been trying to get the taste of bile out of her mouth since. She drank some water and gave one last spit. She heard the sound of a leaf crunch behind her and turned to see Ignis walking towards her.

She smiled weakly. “Hello.”

He nodded at her and raised a hand in greeting. “How are you feeling?”

She scratched her arm nervously. “I'lll be okay, I'm used to it by now.” she slipped.

“You weren't well last time I saw you either.” he commented.

She blushed, apparently Ardyn hadn't been the only one to notice. “Yes, just a bug, I'll get over it.”  _No matter how often she said it, it still did not convince her._

“We're leaving momentarily.” Ignis said suddenly. “I came to say goodbye, and....” he reached out and touched her shoulder. “Take care of yourself.”

She touched the hand on her shoulder and nodded. “You too, Ignis.”

He pulled away, inclined his head and then walked back towards the temple where the the others were. Ellie followed after him and waved to Prompto and Noctis as they left. Suddenly Prompto stopped mid-step and came racing back to her. He held out a photo to her, winked as she took it, then went racing back to catch up with the others.

She watched Prompto for a few moments, until he was out of sight, before she looked down at the photo. It was of herself and Ignis, when they had been talking together against the stone railing. They weren't smiling at each other, but she got a warm feeling from the photo and took it back to her tent to find a place to put it. She settled on putting it one of the breast pockets of her jacket, until she could find somewhere more suitable. Afterwards, she took her nap.

She awoke to the feeling of a hand gently stroking her face. Her eyes shot open as panic took her, she relaxed, however, as her green eyes locked with gold. She smiled and reached up to touch his face. “Good morning, Sir.” she hoped it was still morning, she could see sunlight, so at least it was still daylight.

“Hello Ellie.” he pushed hair out of her face. “Highwind said that you were unwell.”

Panic struck Ellie as all of her worries came back to her. She trembled and sucked in breaths as her eyes watered. “S-Sir...” she sobbed, her eyes watering, causing his to widen fractionally. “Sir!” she lunged at him, clutched at him for dear life and buried her face into his chest. She shook and her tears wet his his vest. “What is wrong with me sir?” she cried.

“What do you mean?” his hand touched her head gently.

“Did Besithia do something to me?!” her cries became hysterical. “It that why I've been so sick??” she chocked a sob.

“ _No._ ” He said, his voice held a _something_ to it. What that something was, Ellie could not name.

She looked up at him with bleary eyes. “S-Sir?”

“He did _nothing_ to you.” his golden eyes looked down at her, she felt him staring into her soul.

“Did he...” Ellie began with a sniff. “Did he try...? I heard his assistants talking about it.” she shook harder as panic continued to consume her.

“Dear Ellie,” his firm tone caused her to stop shaking. “I _promise_ you, dear girl, that he was unable to do anything to you.” there was something that he was not telling her, but she found herself unable to ask him. Something in his tone and his words reassured her to what he was saying, and she felt herself unable say anything else.

“B-but there's something wrong...” she said eventually.

“Dear Ellie, have you considered it stress?” he pushed hair out of her face.

She frowned. “What?”

“We're in the middle of a war Dear,” he voice sounded strange, soothing, like a doctor or a parent. “You need some time to relax, enjoy the world.” he stroked her cheek. “Which is why I'm taking us to Altissia!” he suddenly perked up.

“Altissia?” she pushed herself to sit up, something was going on. “Why are we going to Altissia, Sir?” there was no way he was taking her on an impromptu holiday, the Chancellor was whimsical and crazy, but he wasn't _that_ whimsical and crazy. There was no way that they were taking a break from the war, something was happening.

He smiled and laid down on her comforter, he crossed his legs and looked up at her with a grin. “Just a trip, a little _holiday._ ”

_Holiday indeed._

 

 


	11. Altissia

Chapter Eleven

 

Altissia

 

Ellie knelt against the edge of the gondola as they rode the boat through the city. Ardyn was quite fond of the little boats and had insisted that they rode one the second that they had arrived. Tired as she had been, she had agreed to go with him, she too, liked riding the gondola's. She reached down and touched the water, it was cool against her fingers.

She glanced over at Ardyn who was sitting at the end of the gondola. He was looking out at the city, a calm expression on his face. His body seemed to be relaxed as well, she smiled, at least Altissia was making him feel better.

She was not feeling as relaxed as he. Sure she was enjoying the feeling of the water running through her fingers and the sun on her face, but there was something that filled her with unease. She felt as though something was going to happen, what, she did not know, but she knew her instincts well enough to trust them.

“I heard that Lunafreya is here.” she said, trying to make conversation. She had been so relieved when she had discovered that Lunafreya had not perished. Even though there was still a war going on, she hoped that Lunafreya and Noctis were able to get married.

“That's the rumour.” Ardyn tilted his head to look at her.

She sighed and leaned back onto her seat, she looked up at the blue sky. “This is really lovely...” she smiled as she saw a cloud that was in the shape of a dragon. “Sir, did you need the rest as well?” she tilted her head to look over at him. “Is that why we're here?”

He frowned and turned sharply to her. “Can I not simply take a holiday with you for the pleasure of it?” he sounded offended by the notion.

She jumped up to sit. “Sir, I only meant-”

He chuckled cutting her off. “I'm teasing you Ellie.” he winked.

Ellie relaxed and went back to lying on the gondola. She was so relaxed just lying under the sun. She crossed her legs and waged her leg gently. “Do you want me to cook dinner tonight? When we get back to the hotel.” she tilted her head to look up at him.

He shook his head. “No, we'll go out tonight. You can rest tonight.” he looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. Ellie watched him quietly as he simply breathed and enjoyed the feeling of the sun against his face. She pulled herself up to stand and walked over to him. He opened a lazy eye to her. “Yes Dear?”

She reached out and touched her fingers to his cheek. “You look beautiful Ardyn...” her eyes ran over his face and the light reflecting off his hair. Her fingers slid across his face before trailing over his lips.

He opened his other eye and followed her eyes as she scanned over him. “What are you going to do?” he murmured against her fingertips. He lifted a hand to her face, he slid her hair behind her ear and out of her face. He smiled as she leaned into the touch.

“May I?” she asked quietly. When he nodded she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. His hands slid down her sides and came to rest at her hips, his thumbs rubbed circles while he pulled her to him. She moaned as he pulled her hips to his. She clutched at his coat as she moved closer to him. She felt him press into her and rolled her hips in response. Had she been paying attention, she would have heard the driver of the gondola cry out, but she did not so when the boat rocked and struggled to stand, and when she was suddenly doused in icy water, she let out a shriek.

“It's f-freezing...” she trembled as her now icy clothes clung to her body. She looked up with a glare as she heard Ardyn laughing. His head was thrown back as he let out a hearty, full-body laugh. She scowled and held herself as she felt the goosebumps coat her body. Were he laughing at anything else, she would have enjoyed the sight, but because he was laughing at her, for this reason, the warmth in her eyes shone brightly.

“Oh Ellie!” he chuckled. “Shall we get you back to the hotel? Get you changed, and then maybe some dinner?”

Ellie continued to glare, but she managed a nod.

“My apologies ma'am.” the gondola's driver said. “Waters have been unpredictable lately.”

 

X

 

Ellie stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. She sighed as she walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom of their hotel suite. She had needed that shower, she felt infinitely better, the hot water had warmed her and she was glad to not be shaking anymore. She held the towel tighter around her and knelt down at her suitcase, at least she had spare clothes ready.

“I have a present for you Ellie.” she jumped, then turned to see Ardyn leaning against the door. He was holding a clothes travel bag, he held it up to her. “You can wear it to dinner.”

She rose from the floor and accepted the bag. “Thank you Sir.” she looked down at the bag and undid the zip to reveal the dress within. It was a simple strapless dark blue dress that cut off above her knees, it was simple, but elegant. She fingered the material, something about it reminded her of a pair of pyjama's that Ardyn used to have- possibly the colour? She eyed the dress. It was definitely the colour.

“I'm glad that you like it.” he beamed, before gesturing for her to hurry up with his hands. “Now, chop chop, I'd like to eat my dinner this century please.” he folded his arms in front of her and moved to lean against a bedpost. His eyes watched as she lifted the dress from the bag and started to remove the towel.

When she felt his eyes on her and realised that he was watching her, she turned to him with a raised eyebrow. When he returned the expression, she placed a hand on a tilted hip and asked. “Are you just going to stand there and watch? When he did not reply and his lip twitched, she rolled her eyes. “Fine.” she proceeded to drop the towel and dress herself.

 

X

 

Ellie looked around at the beautiful candles and ivy that was wrapped around the lattice as they were guided to the private garden area. It was beautiful, there were little tea lights on the lattice that surrounded the area and completed the room, it looked like a fairy haven. She walked over to the lattice and resisted the urge to touch the little tea lights. As she got closer, she could see tiny ceramic fairies placed all over the ivy. It was wonderful.

“Well this is quaint.” Ardyn commented, looking up at the lanterns hanging above them. He walked over to the carved wooden table and chairs and sat down on a chair. He lifted a menu and began to read over the selections. “What would you like Ellie?”

Ellie turned to him and walked over to the table, she sat down across from him and lifted the second menu. “What is there?” she scanned the pages. She had been to Altissia before, she had eaten in Altissia before, but they had never been to this restaurant, so she wanted to try something new. “Ooo Long island ice tea...” she murmured.

“Looking at the drinks are we?” Ardyn chuckled and flipped through the pages. “I think I'll try the roasted shoopuff... and perhaps a whisky.” he put his menu down and folded his hands on the table in front of him. “Ellie?”

Ellie flushed, either the Chancellor was a very fast reader- a good possibility- or he had eaten there before- which would explain how he knew exactly what he wanted. She scanned the pages contents. “I think I'll have... the chocobo pie? And the long island ice tea.” she put her menu down and looked back up at Ardyn. “Is that okay?”

He nodded and reached to a little red button in the middle of the table, not long after, the waitress came. She took their orders and hurried off to fill them. “It's been a long time since we were last here, no?

Ellie nodded. “It had been for work,” she recalled. “The Emperor wanted you to try and find the girl who had run off and left his nephew heartbroken...” she tapped her chin as she tried to remembered the event. “If I remember correctly... she left for another man, we were unable to find her, at least, that's what the report said.” she watched as the Chancellor's eyes flashed with amusement. “What ever _did_ happen to her, Sir?” 

Ardyn chuckled. “We simply were never able to find her, my Dear Girl.”

She shook her head with a chuckle. “I'm sure.”

“Think what you will dear girl.” he looked behind her and smiled as their waiter brought them their drinks. He thanked the person before taking his drink and sipping it.

Ellie eyed her drink and used the straw to stir the ice cubes. “Thank you...” she glanced up at him. “For taking me out today, it's been wonderful.”

“Dear Ellie,” he made a gesture with his hand. “We're on _holiday,_ of course we're going to go out and have fun.” he clasped his hands together on the table. “But in any case, you're welcome.” it was then that their food came out. His eyes lit up at the sight. “Is that for us? Thank you very much!” 

They ate their meals in silence, each taking the time to simply enjoy the taste of their food. When they were done, Ellie rested a hand on her bloated stomach and sighed. It  _had_ been a wonderful meal. Then the sound of music flowed out from the inside of the restaurant. It was wonderful. She looked over to Ardyn who had his eyes closed and was enjoying the sound of the melody. Suddenly he rose from the chair and stepped to her.

He held out a hand to her and opened his eyes lazily. “Dance with me Ellie?”

She placed her hand in his and allowed herself to be pulled up to stand. “Sir?” she tilted her head as he held her. She placed her free hand on his chest while the other was locked with his. He smiled and closed his eyes again, but made no move to answer her query. As she felt the hand on her lower back rub circles, she closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. Everything was perfect at the moment. She loved being able to do this, to spend this sort of time with Ardyn... but she knew that it would not last long, there was a war going on and even though she tried not to, she couldn't help but wonder when this was going to end.

_A week later she would be rewarded for her worries..._

 

X

 

She leapt out of her bed- and her skin- at the sound of a bang. She shakily looked around the room, she was in her hotel room, she had laid down to take a nap. Ardyn had sent her after commenting on how tired she looked. She pulled herself up to stand, she could smell smoke. What had happened? She looked around the room, there was no sign of Ardyn. She called out to him, when there was no answer, she walked to the window to look out at the city. Her eyes widened.

The city was ablaze, M,T soldiers were being deployed from the skies and citizens that weren't being hounded by the soldiers were fleeing the carnage. She stepped away from the window and ran out into the rest of the suite. It was empty, there was no sign of Ardyn, his bag, as well as hers, was gone as well. She leaned against a wall and ran a hand through her hair, panic shot through her. Where was Ardyn? What was happening in the city?  _Why_ was the Empire invading Altissia?

She gripped her hair tightly and tried to think of her next course of action. Find Ardyn. She had to find the Chancellor. She pushed from the wall and walked over to her shoes and mag-rod, which were by the front door. She slipped into her shoes and gripped the rod. She didn't want to, but she knew that she had to go out into the chaos. She needed to find Ardyn.

She tied her hair back quickly before stepping out of the suite. The hallways and the rest of the hotel seemed to be in a strange calmness, despite the chaos outside. She hastily moved down the stairs and into the foyer, there was some papers scattered across the floor, but that was about it. The hotel, was peaceful, and if she did not know what was happening outside, she would have felt a sense of peace. But she did know what was happening, she could  _see_ the chaos outside. She stepped towards the main doors before having to cling to a nearby chair as something near by exploded. 

As the shock wore off she raced out of the building. She needed to find out what was happening, she needed to find Ardyn. As she raced out a group of people charged past her. They were terrified, Ellie could understand why, especially with the M.T's charging after them. One of them noticed her and turned to her, they seemed intent on taking her into custody.

She scowled and rose to her full height. “I am Elise Tummelt, assistant to Chancellor Izunia,” her eyes narrowed. “try it.” she dared.

The M.T seemed to lose interest in her, it turned and went back to chasing after the citizens. Elise crossed her arms and glared before assessing the streets around her. Lots of buildings were on fire and she could hear what sounded like gunfire. She looked around to where the smoke was most prominent, knowing Ardyn, he was most likely down there. She wished that the M.T's had some sort of real intelligence, then she'd just ask them about the situation- as it were, she would just get run down of their orders, which were pretty obvious to her.

She started in her chosen direction, it was hard as the smell of the smoke was making her feel ill, but she pushed through her nausea and trudged forwards. She jolted at the sound of gunfire, she turned to see someone shooting at an M.T. She wished them luck and hurried on. While running she heard a woman shrieking. She turned down a street to see a woman in a gondola, trying to reach out to a young boy, who seemed to be barely two.

“Do you need help?” she called out as she jogged towards them.

The woman's wild and panicked eyes landed on her. “My son!” she shrieked, reaching out for the boy who was just out of her reach, and crying. “Li, come here!” she sobbed.

Ellie walked slowly towards the boy. “Hey...” she soothed, holding a hand out. “Can I help you to mummy?”

The boy looked up at her with his bright green eyes. “Mwommy?” he looked over to his mother, who was desperately reaching out for him. “I'm scared!” he cried, rubbing his face harshly.

Ellie moved up to the boy and touched his hand. “Here, I'll hold your hand and help you.” the boy flinched as she held his hand, but he did not struggle as she walked hi over to the gondola. His mother clutched him and practically dragged him onto the boat.

She held him tightly as her whole body trembled. She glanced up at Ellie and mumbled a 'thank you' into her sons hair. Ellie nodded and moved to leave, as she did the woman called out to her. “We have room, you can flee with us.”

Ellie shook her head. “I can't,” she smiled weakly at the woman. “Keep safe, look after him.” she then started in the direction that she had been going in previously. As soon as the boat was out of sight she leaned over the water and was sick. The stress of her situation was getting to her.

“Urgh...” she spat into the water and pulled herself up. She looked around at the burning buildings in the distance and held back a cough, she was going to get sick- again- if she continued in that direction, but she had no choice, she needed to find Ardyn. As she pushed forwards she heard a sound, a screech, she span around and see the Leviathan rising from the ocean. She gasped, its raw power rolling off it like waves. She could feel Altissia tremble beneath her feet. It was an incredible sight to behold, terrifying, but incredible.

She felt her feet step back, away from the sight, but something in the back of her mind told her that that was the way that she needed to go, in that direction she would find Ardyn. All of a sudden, the creature leaped back into the water, vanishing, for now.

At the same time she noticed a shadow move in the corner of her eye. She turned to catch a figure grappling across the buildings, she paused, was that Ignis? She ran in his direction, as she did she caught sight of his grappling again. She paused, and weighed her options, Ardyn seemed to always have them meeting with the Prince and his entourage. It took her a few minutes of thinking, but she eventually settled on chasing after Ignis. It took her some time, but she eventually came across him fighting a group of M.T's with... Ravus?

She stepped into the square as the fighting came to an end. “Ignis?” she called out getting their attention, Ravus stiffened, as though ready to strike her, she held her hands up defensively and stopped. “Peace.” she said calmly.

“Elise?” Ignis turned to her, he glanced around, as though expecting something or _someone_ to jump out at them. “What are you doing here?”

She stepped towards them, then stopped as Ravus reached for his sword. “I'm not here to fight!” she gasped. “I... I was here on holiday, Ar- The Chancellor wanted some time away from it all, I was having a nap when I woke to this chaos and Chancellor Izunia was nowhere to be found...” she pushed some hair behind her ear. “I want to find him...”

Ravus stepped forwards threateningly, his back rigid and his eyes narrowed, he lifted his sword to her chin. “How are we to believe you?” he sneered. “You are constantly at his side, he could be around here somewhere, waiting to strike.” he took a quick look at the surroundings, then back at her. “This could be a trap.”

She blanched at his insinuations. Did he think that Ardyn was planning to attack them? That she was some kind of distraction? She inwardly shook her head. There was no way that she was _pretending_ to be looking for the Chancellor. She glared at him, what had happened to Ravus? Sure, he had never been the most pleasant of people to be around, but he had never behaved the way that he was now. “I'll not stand idle while you throw accusations at me.” she reached for her mag-rod, causing Ravus to tighten his grip on his sword.

“That's enough.” Ignis said moving to stand between the two. He pushed Ravus' sword away and shot the two with a pointed look. “The city is in chaos, and I need to find Noct.” he looked over at Ellie. “You are welcome to help us if you wish.” Ravus made a sound of protest but Ignis ignored it.

Ellie nodded. “I'll come with you, I need to find Chancellor Izunia, and... I'll help you look for Prince Noctis.” she looked at Ravus. “You might not believe me, but I have no intention of harming you.”

He made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a snort, before turning and walking off towards the growing chaos. She watched him for a few moments before Ignis touched her shoulder and followed after him. She watched Ignis briefly before following after him. Their walk, for the first hour was relatively quiet, there were some M.T's that they fought, but for the most part it was an easy trip. However, as they got closer to the chaos, the more magitek armour began to attack them.

'I hope that's not Loqi.' she thought sadly as she avoided a barrage of bullets from the machine. She swung her rod at one of the machine's ankles. It swiped at her and she jumped back, she groaned as the machine cut her arm.

“Here!” Ignis threw her a potion.

She quickly applied the salve before activating the rod's electric function. She went for another attack, she struck the machines legs again, causing it to shudder and fall down. Ignis and Ravus lunged at it alongside her. It took them a little bit, but they eventually 'killed' the thing. The three jumped back as it exploded, Ravus and Ignis seemed intent of leaving in that moment, but she had them stop, she had to check that it wasn't her cousin. When the debris settled, she climbed the machine and pulled open the cockpit. Inside was an M.T. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad that it was not Loqi.

“Are you done?” Ravus asked, bored.

She turned back to them sheepishly. “Yes.” she nodded, jumping down from the debris. “Sorry, I had to check...”

“I somewhat doubt that the Chancellor would be driving magitek armour.” Ravus strode towards a bench- a rest stop. He leaned against a wall with his arms crossed.

Ignis frowned at her. “Are you-?” he moved to ask her, she waved at him to cut him off.

“I'm okay,” she shook her head and walked over to the bench near Ravus. She sat down and leaned forward, closing her eyes she let out a shuddering breath, she was still feeling woozy. She turned her head when she felt a hand on her back and saw Ignis sitting beside her.

“Are you well enough to be fighting?” he asked calmly.

“I'll be fine.” she snapped. At the expression on his face she sighed. “Sorry,” she looked up, she could see an observatory on the decking of a cafe in the street above them. She pulled herself up, “I'm going to check out what's happening around us.” she climbed up the stairs that led to the deck and walked to the set of tower viewers. She looked into the telescope eyes. At first she saw the inside of a bedroom, but as she moved the telescope she began to see different things. She saw people fleeing, soldiers fighting, fires and then finally, Ardyn and Lunafreya.

Her eyes widened, they seemed to be talking about something. She zoomed in as close as she could, she was now able to see their facial expressions- she took a brief moment to appreciate whoever made these telescopes, they were good. She watched as Lunafreya said something, and then the darkest expression took Ardyn. His face was filled with an indescribable rage, it was a face that she had never seen before, who was this person? This was not Ardyn, this was not the man who had helped her as a child, the man who had stroked her hair when she needed it, the man who laughed with her, the man who... who she loved...

Her eyes widened and her heart stopped as he struck down Lunafreya.

Who was this man?

She staggered from the telescope and fell backwards to the floor. Her heart pounded and she could hear the blood pumping in her ears. Ardyn had killed Lunafreya. Ardyn. Her Ardyn. She felt the bile rise in her throat and she choked on the bile. As she coughed she felt the need to be sick, but not matter how many times she coughed, nothing would come.

“Elise?” Ignis' voice came up the steps as he climbed them. As he reached the top, his eyes landed on her and they widened. He ran to her side and knelt beside her. “What's happened? Are you alright?”

She covered her mouth with her hand as the need to vomit grew. She shook her head and shook as tears welled in her eyes. Her chest tightened and she started to cough, her body heaved and she moved onto her knees and spat at the ground. She let out a cry and pounded the ground. She felt Ignis place a hand on her back and ask her again what had happened, but she could not reply, she had no words.

“What is that?” she heard Ravus say. She did not look up but she felt Ignis let go of her and heard his footsteps move away from her.

_Flashes of a memory, a girl, five years old, meeting a man with Amber eyes and a gentle smile._

 

She bit her lip and shook her head.

_A meeting when she was older, a red dress covered with cookie crumbs, a hat on her head and his laughter._

Hot tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Noct...” she heard Ignis say.

She looked up with her bleary eyes and saw Noctis, surrounded by water and swords, figting the Leviathan. She pulled herself up to stand, unable to believe what she was seeing. “W-What....?” she shakily stepped towards Ignis.

“Noctis...” he turned to her, something about his tousled hair saying more than the panic on his face could. “Elise...I...”

She shook her head. “You go...” she rubbed at her eyes, she couldn't stop crying.

He looked at her for a stretch of time before nodding and rushing off, followed by Ravus. She watched him, her legs trembled beneath her as she watched the scene before her. She reached to her chest and clutched at her hands. She felt more bile rise in her throat.

_Being embarrassed, reassured, a kiss on her head._

Her feet moved of their own accord, taking her towards the carnage. After Ignis and Ravus, and towards Noctis... and him. Her steps became faster as she moved through the city, she easily avoided the destruction and debris around her, despite the fact that she was not paying attention to her surroundings. She has been following her legs and where they were taking her.

_Protecting him, first kisses. First kisses turning into more. Relationships building, love developing... she would do anything for him..._

_The expression on his face as he murdered Lunafreya._

Pain shot through her, starting at her chest. She sucked in a breath and continued her journey, her walking turned into a run, and the run turned into a sprint as she raced through the streets. She had no idea how long she ran for, but while she ran, something happened to Noctis. His battle ended, but she was unsure of who was the victor. Her legs ached but she pushed forward, she needed to do something, _anything_ \- she froze at the sound of a mans cry.

She knew that voice. _Ignis._ She forced her legs to continue forward, if Ignis was in trouble, she would help him. She ran, faster and harder, her lungs gasping for air as she ran. She felt sick, but she ignored it and ran. Then all of a sudden, she came to a stop. Breathing heavily she felt her heart stop at the sight of Ignis on the ground, his eyes burned and the rest of him covered in bruises and blood. He had been in a fight, a tough one.

Her eyes caught sight of Ardyn standing by him laughing. He seemed to be enjoying whatever had happened, enjoying Ignis' pain. Her fists clenched and she rushed to Ignis' side, knelt beside him and began looking over his wounds.

“Oh my.” she heard Ardyn say, but she ignored him. She pushed hair out of Ignis' face and looked over the mess that was his eyes. She trembled and felt more tears well. She heard something that sounded like Gladio and Prompto but she continued to ignore what was happening around her. She reached for his wrist and felt for his pulse, the relief that she felt when she felt it was immense.

“Perhaps we should put them to an end.” she heard Ardyn Joke.

Her head shot up. “You'll do no such thing!” her eyes flashed. She pulled herself up and stepped in front of the unconscious man, her arms stretched defensively. “This is enough! He is hurt, you won't do anything else to him!”

He frowned at her, his eyebrow twitched lightly. “Is that so, Elise?” there was an edge to his voice.

She bit her lip and inhaled through her nostrils before stepping closer to him. “Who are you right now!?” she demanded. “You're not Ardyn, Ardyn wouldn't do this,” she gestured to Ignis and Noctis' bodies. “Ardyn wouldn't murder innocents in cold blood. This isn't you, I don't even know who you are right now!” she shook her head. “No, right now I'm looking at a monster.”

His eyes flashed, but he said nothing. Instead he nodded to his side and Ellie felt her arms being grasped by strong hands. She looked to her sides and saw that she was being clutched but M.T's, she heard a sound of protest from behind her but was unable to see who had made it. She looked back at Ardyn who was walking away and towards an airship. The M.T's pulled at her arms and dragged her after him. She closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer that Ignis would be alright. When she opened them she saw that Ravus was in a similar position to herself, she hoped that he would be alright as well.

When she got onto the ship she was left in the main cargo hold with her M.T escorts. Ardyn did not come to see her, despite her requests- he was punishing her for standing up to him. She knew that she should have felt guilty, but Ignis was her friend and she was not about to let him get hurt. She frowned as images of Ignis lying prone on the ground, battered and bruised, flashed in her mind.

“Excuse me!” she tried to get the attention of one of her M.T 'guards'. “I demand to see Chancellor Izunia!” when the M.T ignored her, she tried again, when it again ignored her, she sat down on a metal crate and sighed. This could be a long wait.

 

X

 

When the ship came to a stop she looked around, not that she could see anything in the cargo hold. She pulled herself from the crate as she heard footsteps coming towards her. She looked over and saw Ardyn walking to her. She opened her mouth to say something to him, only to shut it as he walked to the M.T and whispered something in it's ear.

The M.T walked to her and grasped her arm. She made a sound of protest as it dragged her towards the opening door of the ship. She watched as the ramp opened and revealed what appeared to be the forest where the chocobo farm was.

“Sir?” she watched Ardyn as he stepped out onto the grass. The M.T dragged her after him and took her a little further out into the forest. It then suddenly let go of her and headed back to Ardyn. She turned to him and rubbed at her sore arms- the M.T's had a hard grip.

“Sir I-” she went quiet as he held up a silencing hand.

“Elise Tummelt.” his voice was hard and caused her to flinch. “As of this moment you are dismissed.”

A loud ringing rung through her ears and her chest twisted painfully. “W-What?” she gasped breathlessly.

“You have outlived your usefulness.” his cold voice stabbed through her, twisting like a knife. “I leave you now to whatever fate is yours.” he turned to leave.

“Wait!” she cried, reaching out for him. “Sir you can't do this, I-” she weakly chased after him, only to cry out as a M.T shoved her to the ground. “Ardyn!” she sobbed.

But he said nothing, nor did he look back, he continued his walk into the ship and vanished out of sight. The M.T's followed after him and she watched the ship take off and leave her in the middle of the woods. She clutched at herself and shook as the airship flew out of sight. She felt something wet touch her face, she looked up at the greying clouds and knew that she needed to find somewhere dry. She wiped at her face and looked around. The chocobo farm was not far, if she remembered correctly. She followed a trail near her and was relieved when some five minutes later she saw the very place that she had been looking for. She was luck that she had, as the rain was starting to get heavier.

She walked to the main desk and paid for some ice cream, bad weather be damned, she was having the comfort food. She walked to the tables to wait for her order. As she did she saw a familiar face sitting at one of the tables. “Loqi?” she said shakily and stepped towards him.

He rolled his eyes. “I just can't escape you-” he cut himself off as he took in her haggard appearance. “Ellie, are you alright?”

Those words were all it took. She collapsed beside him and buried her face in his lap. Her cries soaking into his pants while she clutched to him as though her life depended on it.

“What happened Ellie?” he touched her heaving back.

She didn't reply. She _couldn't_ reply. She was exhausted, emotionally and physically, and her life, her world was breaking around her. Loqi's arms were everything that Loqi had never been, warm and safe. They were everything that she needed right now. They were a balm, a protection from what had happened to her... safety from the world.

_Then the world ended..._


	12. The End

Chapter Twelve

 

The End

 

Loqi walked out of his caravan and into what was once the Hammerhead garage. He pulled his now long hair into a low tie and looked up at the night sky. He did this every day, he did this every day even though he knew that it wasn't going to change. He lived in a hopeless hope that one day, he would look up and see the sun again. He never thought that he would miss something like the sun, something that had always been there... only now it was not. Ardyn had covered the world in veil of daemons and darkness.

He tore his eyes away from the sky and looked to the people nearby who were running around and trying to run their lives- trying to find normalcy in their lives. He understood why they would do that, he too tried to maintain routine and fragments of peace, his desire was difficult, however, considering that he was one of the people who had to defend Hammerhead.

He heard laughter and looked over to see some children playing with a ball under the floodlight. The sight caused him to frown further, he longed for a time where the sun was back and the children could play in the sun again. What did Ardyn have to do this to the world? Loqi had never liked the Chancellor, had always found him to be a creep, but he had never thought that he would be capable of effectively ending the world.

He walked towards what used to be the main garage while he pondered. Ignis had told him that he believes that it would end soon, that Noctis would come back and help them end it- call Loqi a sceptic, but after ten years, the likelihood of that happening was slim.

“Uncle Loqi!” he heard a girls voice shout.

He smiled and turned to the one good thing to ever come from Ardyn Izunia. “Hello Raine.” he watched the girl as she walked to him. He had known her entire life, _had_ been there from her birth, but he still could not believe just how much she looked like her father. Her hair was his, short, red waves bobbing at her shoulders. Pale skin with some freckles dotting her cheeks- she even had his smile! The only thing that was purely hers and not his, were her blue eyes, but they weren't her mothers either, he wondered if she had gotten them from his side of the family, because Ardyn certainly did not have blue eyes.

The girl stopped in front of him and grinned, before pushing her bangs out of her face. “Uncle Loqi,” the nine, nearly ten, year old crossed her arms at him. “Have you seen mum? She hasn't had lunch yet, and I don't think that she had breakfast.”

Loqi nearly rolled his eyes. Ellie was having one of  _her_ days, weeks more like it, considering that Raine had come to him with this exact same concern earlier in the week. She did this periodically, had time where she wouldn't eat- he linked it to a form of depression, why she would still miss Ardyn, and feel this way after ten years was beyond him, but what could he do? He was only her cousin. At least he knew where she would be. 

“Don't worry Raine.” he ruffled her hair, causing her to jump away and stick a tongue out at him. “I know where she is, I'll make sure she eats something.”

The girl nodded, before quirking a brow and sending him a look that was so much like her father that he sucked in a breath- how did she do that id she had never met the man? “Heard from Uncle Iggy yet?” she said slyly.

His lips thinned. “Not as of yet.” he replied evenly. Ignis was a sore topic for him at the moment, a week ago Ignis had left, no note or anything. Loqi had woken to find the other gone, along with Gladio, to say that he had not been impressed would be an understatement.

Raine patted his arm. “It's okay Uncle, I'm sure Iggy isn't going to be gone long. Maybe we can make some of those paper...” she paused as she thought of the word. “...flowers... yes flowers, we can make paper flowers for when he comes back.”

Loqi nodded. “We could.” inwardly he flinched, there shouldn't be a child who didn't know what flowers were. There shouldn't be a child who had only seen them in picture books, it was a tragedy... a tragedy that her father had caused. He bit the inside of his cheek. It was not  _her_ fault that the world had effectively ended. She hadn't created the daemons and unleashed them on the world. He inwardly promised that he would take her to Lestallum where they had some flowers growing, when she was older and the trip a little safer for her.

She smiled at him, it was a warm smile, her mother's smile. “I do miss Uncle Iggy, it hasn't been long, but still.” her cheeks reddened and she scratched her arm. “Ugh, I'm being so embarrassing.”

Loqi chuckled. “Sometimes you remind me of your mother.” his chuckle grew louder as she turned redder and stomped her foot.

“Do you have to!” she grumbled and shot him a withering glare. “Mum says I'm like my father, you say I'm like her, can't I just be me?”

He let out a breath of air laugh. “You are you, you always will be, you just do things that remind us of your parents. Your temper is your mother to the letter.” he looked her up and down. “You look just like your father though.”

She frowned. “What was he like? You never tell me and the other people here have 'colourful' things to say about him, and mum, well she just tells me the same thing, 'he loved me', then she gets that sad look in her eyes.”

_Of course she did._ Loqi frowned, the girl was nearly ten years old and barely knew anything about her father. She knew that he had done something bad, thanks to the populace of Hammerhead, but she also knew that he was a kind person from Ellie. He had avoided talking about it for years, he just doubted his ability to give her an unbiased opinion on the matter. “Look Raine... I...” he looked down at her big blue eyes and inwardly sighed, why did he have so much trouble saying no to her? “How about this? When Ignis comes back, we'll all sit together and talk, your mother as well.”

Raine smiled brightly. “I'd like that.” she adjusted her yellow cardigan, then paused, she looked past Loqi at something, and her smile softened. “I'm going to go see Li, bye Uncle!” she waved to him as she ran to a boy with black hair.

Loqi watched the two. He liked Li, the boy and his mother had been one of the main reasons that they had been able to stay in Hammerhead. When they first had come, the refugees who had taken refuge there had not wanted them to be there, him because he was an imperial soldier, and Ellie because of her affiliation to Chancellor Izunia. Ignis and Cid had defended them, Ignis because he was her friend and Cid because he hadn't wanted to see a pregnant woman out in the dark with the daemons. The rest of Hammerhead had not agreed with them and had tried to run him and Ellie out, that is until Li's mother had recognised her and had stood up for Ellie, apparently Ellie had helped the woman in Altissia- in that moment Loqi had never been more grateful for Ellie's need to help people.

He chuckled as Raine tackled Li with a crushing cuddle. She was going to marry that boy one day, he could feel it in his bones. He then turned and headed for a makeshift watchtower near one of the floodlights, she was probably there, if he knew her. He reached the tower and climbed up the ladder, when he reached the top he was met with the sight of his cousin leaning over the edge, sniper in her arms as she looked into the scope, she fired and he saw her smirk.

“You know, breakfast is important,” he could _hear_ her rolling her eyes as she turned. “lunch too, I hear tell.” he folded his arms in front of him and leaned against one of the beams of the tower. “Perhaps you'd like to come and give them a try- mind you it's closer to dinner now.” he tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.

A woman beside Ellie clicked her tongue. “You haven't seriously been here all day?” she made a shooing action with her hands. “Girl go down and eat something!” she waved at Ellie again before reaching for her own sniper rifle and looking out at the surroundings through the scope.

“Well Ellie, looks like you've been outvoted,” Loqi sassed her with a hand on his hip. “Come on let's get something into you.” he gestured to the stairs with a tilt of his head.

Ellie sighed and placed her rifle down. “Fine.” she grumbled, stepping towards him. Pulled her hair out of its bun and shook it out comfortably. As she rubbed her hair with her fingers she stepped towards the ladder, she suddenly lost balance and had to clutch onto Loqi to support herself. “S-Sorry...” she gasped. “W-woozy.”

“Well that's what happens when you spend your day in this box and don't eat.” he squeezed her shoulder and guided her to the ladder. “I'm going to go first, you fall and crash into me and I'll come back to haunt you.”

She snorted at his words and watched him get halfway down before she followed after him. When Loqi reached the bottom he waited for her and helped her own as she stepped from the ladder. She said a 'thank you' before pulling herself away. He crossed his arms and gestured for her to follow him. “Why did you think that eating wasn't a good idea?”

He didn't look back at her but he could picture her shrugging. “I guess that I just forgot. I made Raine some breakfast... then went up there.”

Loqi hummed. “Raine was worried about you, said that you haven't been eating.” he walked up to her caravan and pulled out the spare key that he had. “What's going on Ellie?” he asked as he opened the door and stepped inside, he heard her follow after him and close the door behind them. “You having one of your  _bad weeks_ ?” 

She sat at the table and looked down at her hands. “I...” she closed her eyes. “I'm sorry Loqi...” she looked up at him with her sad green eyes. “This isn't the first time you've helped me,” she laughed. “not even the first time you've helped me this week. But I... I can't help it...” she shrugged. “I'll pick up, get better, give me a few more days. I always do.” she fiddled with her fingers, tapping them against the table.

Loqi sighed and started the coffee machine. He leaned against the counter and turned to face her. “What do you want for dinner? I'm not as good as you, or Ignis, but I could scrounge something up.”

She laughed. “There's nothing wrong with your cooking.”

He let out a sound that sounded suspiciously like a snort. “Maybe if you're camping, but that's about all I'm good for.” he turned his attention to the little refrigerator, bent down and opened it with a click. “Let's see, you have... I could do a stir fry? Or... a stew...”

“Whatever's easier for you Loqi, I don't mind.”

The door to the caravan opened. “Loqi did you find... oh mum!” Raine smiled and slid onto the seat and beside Ellie. “What were you doing today?”

“I was killing Daemons.” Ellie smiled and accepted a cup of coffee as Loqi passed it to her. “The usual, what about you, love? What did you get up to today?”

“Well Li and I...” as she regaled Ellie with her days adventures, Loqi watched her and prepared dinner. He smiled as he saw Ellie smile at her daughter and listen to everything that she had to say. 'If there was one thing that Ardyn was ever good for...' he thought as he put some rice on to cook. '...it was her.' he took a quick glance back at the two women in his life. He saw the way Ellie's face lit up and smiled.

_Loqi would forever be grateful to Ardyn for Raine... though he'd never say that out loud._

 

X

 

It was a week later, while Ellie was sniping some Daemons, that she saw the car driving towards Hammerhead. _Talcott_ was supposed to be coming today so she paid the vehicle no attention, and instead chose to shoot a few daemons. A while later, she pulled herself away from her gun at the sound of people being excited over _something._ She walked over to the ladder and looked over the edge and down, her eyes widened as she caught sight of Noctis talking with Talcott.

'Noctis?' she frowned, she had heard that he would not be coming back, but there he was. Unless her eyes had suddenly decided to fail her, which she knew that they hadn't. She clutched at the ladder and climbed down.

As she reached the ground she slowly walked towards the prince. He looked older, much older than the last time she had seen him. Had he gotten shorter? Or did he just seem smaller, he had been small when she had seen him last, but now he just seemed so different. She stepped towards him as the people who had crowded him began to disburse.

“Prince Noctis...” she said quietly.

He turned to her with wide eyes that flashed with recognition. “Elise?” he tilted his head and looked her up and down. He took a hesitant step back as though he were expecting her to attack, or perhaps Ardyn to pop out of nowhere. While it wasn't about to happen, she couldn't fault him if he thought it.

She held a hand up. “It's okay, we live here now...” she glanced up at the sky. “We came here about ten years ago... been here since.”

“You were working for Ardyn, what happened?” his voice wasn't snappish or rude, merely curious.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, before pushing it behind her shoulder- she really needed to tie it back or cut it, it was getting too long. She locked eyes with Noctis and resisted the urge to sigh again, she wasn't sure that she wanted to talk about it. She was quiet as she assessed her past and where to begin, as much as she didn't want to talk about it, she knew she had to.

“It was Altissia...” she caught the slight flinch in his body at the City's name. “I... I defended Ignis, said.. said something awful to Ardyn so he, he fired me.” she caught his eyes as they widened.

“He did what?” he asked softly.

She nodded. “Yes.” she let out a bitter laugh. “Then he left me by the chocobo farm, luckily Loqi was there.”

Noctis' brow furrowed before settling as he mentally put a face to the name. “What happened then?”

She looked, this could take a while. “Come, we'll sit down.” she gestured for her caravan and the table and chairs set up there. When he nodded in consent she led him to the seats and they sat across from each other. When they were settled, she continued. “I found out that I was pregnant.” she watched him as his whole body shook at the news.

“Well I'm glad that we sat down.” he joked shakily. Then looked at her with a slightly haunted expression. “What happened?”

“Well at first I cried, for a few days.” her eyes glazed over as she remembered the first few days. She had been in a panic, she had wanted to tell Ardyn but had no way of contacting him. Loqi had been there for her, but she had wanted Ardyn- and even though he had tried, he had been unable to get in contact with the Chancellor. It had been a hard time for her. “We stayed in Lestallum for a while, long enough for my stomach to start showing... then the world was covered in darkness.” she closed her eyes as she remembered the events.

When she opened her eyes Noctis was watching her pensively. She smiled wryly. “Then we were kicked out of Lestallum-”

“What do you mean you were kicked out?” Noctis frowned, alarmed at the suggestion.

“Loqi and I are Imperials,” she said simply. “Imperials caused this madness... but it is more than that...” she shook her head and looked out at some of the people walking through Hammerhead. “I was known as 'assistant' to the Imperial Chancellor, the people who had seen me in Lestallum with him knew what we were...” she shook her head with a breath of laughter. “It was only a matter of time before they kicked us out.”

“Where..” Noctis said quietly, catching her attention. “Where did you go then? What did you do?”

“We drove, well _Loqi_ drove, I wasn't doing much of any driving, I was too busy crying- how he managed to _not_ throw me out of the car and drive off amazes me.” she chuckled as she remembered, she must have been an emotional nightmare for Loqi- upon reflection, she wondered if she was the reason that he never settled with a woman, _one crazy lady in his life was enough_. She chuckled inwardly, that being said, Loqi was somewhat the 'crazy lady' in his own relationship.

She looked over to Noctis who was watching her intently while sipping his drink. He was hanging on her every word, taking it all in. “We drove for a few days, and slept in the car- Loqi took out some of the Daemons when they attacked the car, he wouldn't let me due to my _condition_.” she shook her head at the memory, she had a gun, he could have easily let her shoot from the window, but apparently that wasn't an option, her _delicate_ situation demanded that he protected her- she respected him for that, but he could hardly protect her if he was dead.

“Eventually we arrived in Hammerhead, we didn't receive a good reception.” _that was an understatement._ “They tried to throw us out on sight, if Ignis hadn't stepped in, they would have.” she could still remember the expression on his face as he saw her standing there in her state, he had been unable to process her pregnancy at first, even though he knew who the father was straight away. “Then Annette steeped in and spoke for us, she told them about me helping them in Altissia, it wasn't until Cid stepped in that they conceded and agreed to let us stay, we've been here since.” she finished with a hand gesture.

Noctis was silent for some time before he simply said. “And your baby?”

Ellie smiled and fingered her mug. “Her name is Raine, she'll be ten soon.”

Noctis seemed to digest the information. “How is she? Is she a,” he paused as he grasped for words. “is she happy? Is she... kind?”

Ellie felt her lips twitch and she pulled a face. “You mean is she a good girl? Despite who her father is, she is a kind and caring and wonderful person-” her fist clenched. “and despite everything, Ardyn was a good person as well- for what all he is now, he was once a good person.” she couldn't believe that she was still defending him, _still_ , after everything that he had done to her, to the world and she still couldn't stop herself.

Noctis looked as though he wanted to say something in retaliation to her words, but instead he opted to take a breath and sigh. “You said that Ignis helped you, have you seen him lately?” he was trying to keep the peace, an act that she appreciated.

She chuckled as she thought of Ignis. “It's been a while since I saw him, he's in trouble when he comes back though.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

She waved her hand dismissively at him. “You'll see, trust me.”

Noctis pursed his lips and looked as though he wanted to protest, but he instead changed the subject- he had gotten more patient in his old age it seemed. “Can I meet her? Your daughter, I mean?” he rested his arms against the table and leaned forward.

Ellie frowned. Did she want Noctis to meet her daughter? Would Ardyn have wanted them to meet? Logically it would make sense for Ardyn to not want the prince to interact with anything that belonged to him- especially when she remembered what Ignis, Gladio and Prompto told her about how Ardyn treated Noctis. But a voice in the back of her mind argued in favour, that Ardyn would _love_ for Noctis to meet his child, even when he himself had not. In the end it didn't matter as the universe stepped in and solved her internal dilemma for her, by having her daughter run up to them.

“Mum!” she walked up to the table with a wave. She pushed some of her red curls out of her face and gestured to Noctis. “Who is this?”

Ellie chanced a glance at Noctis and saw him staring wide-eyed at Raine. She understood why, her daughter was the very image of her father. She was only missing the hat, yes she was more feminine than Ardyn, but she looked so much like him, that any who knew Ardyn would pause at her. She wondered how he felt about it, would he be angry? Many others were angry when they met Raine.

“Raine,” she began then pointed to Noctis. “This is Prince Noctis, Noctis,” she pointed to her daughter. “This is Raine Tummelt, my daughter.”

Raine leaned against the table. “You're Noctis? _The_ Noctis?” her eyes lit up. “Uncle Iggy told me about you, Prompto and Gladio too.” she looked him up and down, then gave him a raised brow look. “That beard doesn't suite you, you looked better when you were younger-”

“Raine!” Ellie interrupted, her mouth open agape.

“What?” she raised her hands defensively. “I'm being honest, you _always_ tell me to be honest.” she sent her a sly smile.

Noctis chuckled. “It's alright,” he leaned forwards. “Now Raine, can you tell me about your _Uncle_ Iggy? I haven't seen him in a long time, Prompto and Gladio too, I'd really like that.”

Ellie grinned. “Well I'm your expert on that topic.” she puffed her chest out. “I'll tell you everything you want to know!”

Ellie let out a chuckle at her daughter's attitude, she loved when Raine told stories, she was so animated and always told the story in a way that would capture her audience and keep them entranced through the whole thing. It reminded her of the girls father. A wistful expression took her dace as she thought about him, she missed him. She glanced at Noctis and smiled as he looked overwhelmed as he was told the story of when Prompto had tried asking Cindy out- there were a lot of stories to choose from- and had ended up naked and tied to a pole. She chuckled at the memory, _that_ had been a day.

 

X

 

It was the next day while they were talking to the owner of the weapons van that they heard the sound of the gate opening and a car drove in. The pair watched as Ignis, Gladio and Prompto climbed out of the car. Ellie watched as Noctis practically ran to see his friends. She sat in the van with Bill, the vans owner, for what felt like hours, until the group began to disburse from each other to prepare themselves for their journey. Ignis and Noctis stayed back and continued to talk, until they were interrupted by a shrill shout.

“ _Where have you been!?”_

Ellie, along with Ignis and Noctis and possibly those around them, all flinched at the sound. She looked over to see Loqi racing towards the pair, his long hair trailing behind him like a kite flailing in the wind. His eyes were wild and Ellie pulled herself up from the van and move closer to get a better view, this was going to be something.

Noctis looked bewildered and raised his hands almost defensively as Loqi charged towards them. He took a quick glance at Ignis and was shocked to see the other man smiling in the direction of Loqi. “Loqi,” he said pleased. “I've missed-”

“No note, car gone!” Loqi stopped in front of them, he waved a hand wildly. “I wake up and you're gone, nothing, nadda,”

“Are they fighting again?” Ellie turned to see Raine standing beside her.

He flailed his hands again. “then I find out that you're off with Gladio fighting daemons!”

Ellie laughed. “Yeah, but I kind of understand where Loqi's coming from-” she flinched as Loqi's pitch seemed to rise as he spoke. “I mean, I'd be pretty mad if that were me.”

Raine nodded. “Still this isn't something that Uncle Iggy would do, so I'm wondering how it happened.”

Ignis cut off Loqi's tirade through raising his hands, when Loqi was silent for a stretch of time he spoke. “I'm sorry that I worried you, I needed to leave and I asked Gladio to write you a note, I am assuming that it went missing.”

“Actually...” Gladio's voice came from behind the weapons van, presumably where the man was hiding. “I kinda forgot, sorry Loqi!”

Noctis looked in the direction of Gladio's voice, then back at the scene before him, he was completely lost. Ellie felt sorry for him, the man had just come back and was now being subjected to Loqi and his craziness. Though she had to admit, the expression on his face is amusing.

“When I see your face I'm giving you a black eye!” Loqi called over his shoulder causing Gladio to let out a bark of laughter. He looked back at Ignis and scanned him all over. “You don't _seem_ damaged.” he said with a raised brow.

“I have a few, _scratches,_ but nothing serious.” Ignis reassured.

Loqi grasped the others arm before tugging the other towards his caravan.

“You do not need to check, I am perfectly well.”

“I'll be the judge of that.”

Ignis chuckled and allowed himself to be dragged away.

When the pair were out of sight, Noctis turned to Elise and Raine, his eyes swimming with confusion. “I know that I've missed a lot, but what just happened?” he gestured vaguely to the spot where Loqi and Ignis had stood. “I mean, I have a feeling that I _know_ what just happened, but what just happened?”

Ellie smiled. “Well when two people-”

“Aaannnd that's all that I needed to know.” he raised his hands and laughed. “As long as he's happy, whatever.” he started off towards where Gladio and Prompto were. “We'll head off soon, I'm going to help them get ready, I'll meet you at the car later.”

“Mum.” Raine said quietly as she stepped towards her, she looked up at her with worried eyes. “What did he mean? Are you...” she stepped in front of her mother. “...are you going with them?” she watched as her mother flinched. “You are! Why are you going with them!?”

“Raine I,” Ellie closed her eyes. “I want to say goodbye, or at least try to..”

The youth's eyes widened. “You want to see _him_? Are you serious, you could die!” she let out a sound of protest as she was pulled into a hug. She grunted and struggled in her mothers arms. “ _Let go of me!_ ”

Ellie held on tighter. “No, Rainie, I have to do this.” she squeezed her child tighter. “I'll be back, I promise.” she leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “I want you to stay with Uncle Loqi, wait for me, I promise you that I'll come home.”

The younger of the two pulled herself free. “Fine.” she hissed. “Go and see that man. The man that caused everyone's pain.” she rubbed at her red eyes. “If he kills you, don't say that I didn't warn you.” she clenched her fists. “You say he _loves_ me, he doesn't even know that I exist!” she shook her head harshly. “Everyone tells me about him, except for _you,_ ” she huffed. “and do you know what that means? That they're right! He is a monster who ruined the world!”

“Raine...” Ellie let out a shaky breath. “When I get-”

“ _You won't get back!_ ”

“ _I will!_ ” she snapped, causing the girl to freeze wide-eyed, Ellie had never raised her voice at her before. “When I come back, I'll tell you everything, all about him, every question that you have, anything that you want to know, I'll tell you, I promise.”

Raine looked up with wide eyes. “Promise you'll come back?”

Ellie nodded and pulled her child into a hug. “I promise my love.” she leaned down to rest her head atop her child's, she inhaled and took in the flowery scent that was her child. She knew that she would be back, but she squeezed a little tighter... just in case.

 

X

 

A few hours later the five of them were fighting daemons on the road so that they could make camp, and when the daemons were gone and they had set up camp, Ellie chose to sit off to the side and watch as each of the boys said their piece with Noctis. Their 'goodbyes', she thought with a pang. As she watched Noctis grasp Ignis' hand, her eyes watered, she wished that she could turn the clock back, back to when the world was a simpler place.

She leaned back and rested on her elbows on the grass. She looked up at the sky, at the stars. The sky was beautiful, if only there were more than a night sky to see, she missed the sun. but she missed him... more. She was taken from her musings at the sound of grass crunching. She looked up to see Ignis walking towards her.

“Did Loqi give you a lecture?” Ignis asked as he moved to sit beside her.

She let out a breath of laughter. “Yes... he told me that he'd kick my ass if I didn't come home.”

She heard Ignis chuckle. “Yes he told me much the same.” he shook his head.

“He worries too much.” she said quietly, a warm smile filling her face as she thought about her cousin. Thought about how he had accosted her and demanded her safe return, when she was younger she had had problems with Loqi, the same as any family members living together, but now, now she had a love for Loqi that she never thought that she would develop. He was a rock, among other things, a mother hen being one of them.

“He wants us to be safe.” Ignis said gently. “If I...If I do not make it back, would you look after him?”

Ellie shook her head. “You can look after him yourself, he needs you to even out his craziness...” she rested her head on his shoulder. “If I don't make it... can you look after Raine?”

He shook his head. “I won't need to, you'll make it.”

She nudged him with her shoulder. “We'll just have to make sure we get back- we have people waiting for us.”

“That we do Elise.”

 

X

 

Ellie clutched at her mag-rod as she hid behind a building as the other's took in the sight of Insomnia. She had to sneak away from them, she wanted to, no, _needed_ to get to Ardyn before them. There were things that she had to say to him. Things that she needed to say to him before it was all over. She watched as Gladio looked inside an old car and the others seemed to be investigating the surrounding area, this was good, it meant that they had not noticed that she was gone. 

Now she needed to wait for an opening. She didn't need to wait long, apparently, as a group of imps lunged from a building and charged at the four men. She felt bad, doing what she was about to do, but she did it anyway. As soon as they started fighting, she ran. She turned heel and charged towards the palace.

She had to get there first. She  _ needed  _ to get there first. As she ran through the blackened city, she noticed something, she  _ wasn't  _ being attacked. She could see the monsters around her, but they hadn't seemed to notice her, no, that was wrong, they were  _ ignoring her.  _ The creatures around her seemed to be watching her, but they had no interest in attacking her. This raised her paranoia, why was this happening? They were daemons, and she was a human, they had no reason to ignore her.

As she got closer to the castle, where she assumed that he would be, she noticed how much hotter it was getting. She frowned, why? She slowed her pace so that she could take her jacket off, she rolled her long white sleeves up and tied her jacket around her hips. She jogged towards the tall building, the closer she got, the hotter she got. She crept through an alleyway to get to her destination, as she did she discovered why it was so hot.

The Infernian.

She gasped, dropped her rod and stepped back against the wall of the building behind her, but it was too late, he had seen her and he was stomping towards her. A feral grin across his face. She felt the earth tremble beneath her as he drew closer and beads of sweat rolled down her face. The creature drew closer and she closed her eyes, she wished that she could have seen him before she died. She took a shaky breath and sent a mental apology to her daughter and Loqi.

“Oh leave her alone, your targets are on their way.” she heard a familiar voice chime.

She opened her eyes and gasped as The Infernian listened and stepped away from her, he turned to Ardyn who was walking down the steps towards them. “I'll call you when I need you.” he clicked his fingers and giant disappeared. “Well, well, well...” he folded his arms in front of him and looked Ellie up and down. “isn't this a surprise.”

“S-Sir...” she stammered, then inwardly kicked herself, he wasn't her employer anymore.

He chuckled with a click of his tongue. “Why are you here?” there was an edge to his voice, a dark edge that sent a shiver down her spine. This wasn't her Ardyn, this Ardyn was dangerous.

She pulled herself to her full height and sucked in a shaky breath. “There is something I need to say, and you _will_ listen to me.” she bent down to grasp her fallen mag-rod, her eyes never leaving his as she did so. She rose back to her full height and sent him a look- a daring action considering what he could do to her.

He let out a sound and moved his shoulder in a gesture to follow him. She slowly stepped towards him and followed him up the steps and into the palace. She followed him through the foyer that was once beautiful, but now destroyed and blackened from Ardyn. She looked down at the marble floor which was charred, presumably from the Infernian. She looked back at him and followed him as he headed to the throne. She watched with fascination as he lowered himself onto the throne and slumped into it with his devil may care attitude.

“You had something to say?” he prompted, snapping her from her staring.

She quietly searched her thoughts. After all of these years, one would think that she'd know what she wanted to say, and she did, but standing before him, she had lost them. “What have you been doing these past years?” she asked, then inwardly flinched at her own stupidity.

He quirked a brow and let out a breath of laughter. “Oh, not a lot, catching up on reading- they have quite the library here- playing around with the daemons, taking the light away from the world, cup noodle Tuesday's... you know, nothing special.”

She glared at him. “That was not funny.” when he laughed she clenched her fists. “It's not funny!” she snapped.

He halted his laughter and stared at her. “You were the one making small talk.” he pulled himself up and leaned forwards, his forearms resting on his knees. “Now what do you want, Elise?”

Ten years and she still flinched when he used her full name. _Ten years._ “You abandoned me.” she said simply.

“You had made your decision.” he replied, bored.

She stepped forward and pulled her jacket from her hips and rested it on her forearm. “I was sick, you said that it wasn't because of Besithia, why?” she was avoiding the true thing she wanted to talk about, and it made her sick, but as trivial as it was, she had to know.

He quirked a brow at her, seemingly thinking similar thoughts to her. “Where did these daemons come from? Do you think that they _magically_ appeared with the darkness?” he clicked his tongue. “No, they are here in their great numbers, in part, due to Besithia- he wanted to turn you into one as well.” he drummed his fingers together. “I prevented this, though perhaps I should have let him.” he sent her a dark look.

She bit her lip. “Did you have any idea why I was sick?” she prompted.

He leaned back in the seat and slung a leg over one of the armrests. “At first, no.” he answered honestly. “I began to suspect when the _illness_ did not go away, your actions in Altissia confirmed the _cause_ of your _illness_ at least.”

She frowned. Actions in Altissia? What did he mean? She had stood up to him and defended Ignis- she paused her thoughts. Was he implying that Ignis had something to do with her pregnancy? She almost laughed, it was completely absurd. “Why would you think that Ignis was the reason for my pregnancy?” there, she had said the words.

His eyes flashed black, causing her to step back cautiously. He reached into his coat and pulled out a square of paper. She eyed the square wearily as he pulled himself from the throne and inched darkly down the steps towards her. His gold eyes flashed menacingly as he held the paper out to her.

She eyed it, and him, cautiously as she reached up to take the paper from him. As her fingers touched it, she realised that it was a photo. Frowning she took it from him and flipped it over, her eyes widened. It was the photo of Ignis and her from the ruins, when she had told him that she would protect his _secret_ affections for Noctis. She frowned, what did this photo tell Ardyn? She eyed her hand on Ignis' forearm, a friendly touch, did Ardyn take it as more? Did he look at their eyes locking in the photo and think something more than friendship? Her heart stopped. _Had he been jealous?_

She looked up at him and saw something flash in his eyes. He had been. He had been _jealous_ of _Ignis._ Ignis of all people. She couldn't stop the laughter that rose from the back of her throat. The laughter was short lived, however as he reached forward and grasped her arm. She froze in terror at the expression on his face.

“What is so funny?” he hissed. “I like a good joke, do share.”

“You were jealous of Ignis.” she couldn't, even if she tried, hide her amusement... and her rage. “Ignis. You think that Ignis is the father of my daughter?” there was a hysterical edge to her voice.

“I saw how you were with him.” he shot back. He stepped closer to her, his body towering over her, shadowing all traces of light. “ _How close the two of you we-_ ” he froze, dumbstruck as her hand collided against his cheek with a sickening smack. He stilled, his mouth agape and he looked down at her.

“You bastard.” she hissed, dropping her mag rod- though the urge to hit him with it was great- she placed her jacket on the ground beside it, and then she unleashed ten years of rage upon him. “How dare you!” she struck his chest with her fists. “All these years of pain!” her fists hurt from striking him, but she pushed on. “How dare you do this to me!” tears streamed down her face. “All those lonely nights, the pain...”

She let out a sound of pure pain and continued to pound against his chest. All the frustration and pain that she had felt over the years. All the nights she had cried alone because she missed him. Every emotion that he had caused over the last ten years, she expressed as she struck him. Strangely, or perhaps not, he allowed her to strike him. He stood there as still as a rock as she pounded his chest. She continued for what felt like hours, but was probably only minutes until she collapsed to the floor.

“Why did you do this to me...” she cried as she clutched at his legs. “The child is yours, there never was anyone else...” she sobbed into his leg. She felt him stiffen, then he knelt down in front of her, his gold eyes glittering strangely.

“What?” he asked quietly, his hands moving to cup her face.

She took a shaky breath and locked eyes with him, those beautiful eyes caused her to melt a little. “She's yours...” she shakily reached for her coat, her eyes didn't leave his as she fumbled for her jackets inner pocket. When she eventually found it she pulled out a little black book. “Here.” she said passing him the tome.”

He moved his eyes from her and looked down at the book in his hands. Slowly he opened the book, his hands trembling as he opened the page to a photo of Rain that had been taken a few days ago. She was standing by the weapons van, a smile on her face. He raised a shaky hand to the photo and touched the girl's face. Ellie watched as he collapsed to his knees, a tremble running through his body.

“Ardyn...” she whispered, reaching out to touch his hand, she felt her stomach twist as she felt the hand tremble.

“She looks just like you...” he said quietly, his eyes not leaving the photo.

Ellie shook her head. “No, she's all you...” she touched his hair. “Where else would she get her hair from?” she tried to joke, but It didn't feel like a joke.

He laughed, but it was hollow and empty, but it was still a laugh. “She has your face,” he touched the face on the photo. “Your cheeks... your smile..” he clutched the photo to his chest. “I'm sorry Ellie...”

Ellie stared wide-eyed at the man before her. This was Ardyn. Ardyn who had covered the world in darkness and daemons. Ardyn whom she had known her entire life and who had never shown any emotion even _close_ to this one. Ardyn, the man whom the world knew as a monster, was... crying before her. Crystal clear tears which said so much. She couldn't come close to comprehending how she was feeling in that moment, she could feel her own tears prickling in the corners of her eyes.

“Ardyn... I...” she reached out to him and pushed his hair behind his ear, her hand slid down to cup his face. “Oh... Ardyn.” she wrapped shaky arms around him and pulled his face to her chest. She felt a piece of her break as he trembled in her arms. She let out a shaky sigh and pulled him closer, she inhaled into his hair and felt instantly warmed at the familiar scent. She felt him breathe in with a hitch, he dropped the book to the side as he returned the embrace, his arms wrapping around her tightly.

She raised a hand to his red locks and ran her fingers through them. She had missed this. Touching him, being close to him, the smell of him... simply being near him. She clutched him tighter and buried her face in his hair, inhaling deeply again. She continued to stroke him gently for some time, simply enjoying being close to him. When he pulled his face back from her chest, she said nothing of his red eyes, instead raised her fingers to his face to wipe away the wetness.

He tilted his face to her fingers and kissed the tips of them. “Thank you...” he whispered, his lips moving to the palm of her hand. “Thank you...” he reached for her arm and brushed his lips against the clothed skin, making his way towards her chest, causing her to shiver. The hint of a smile took his face as he inched up and brushed his lips against her throat, when she gasped and leaned her head back, his smile widened.

“Ardyn...” Ellie gasped as his other arm wound around her waist and pulled her to him. She clutched at his shoulders as he nipped at her neck- she had missed this.

“Would you...” he murmured as he nibbled on her earlobe. “Would you indulge me?” he moved to kiss her cheek.

She opened her eyes and locked them with his. “I-Indulge?”

He released her, causing her to make a sound of protest, and pulled himself up to stand. She watched his with a frown as he held a hand out to her. She took the offered hand and allowed herself to be pulled up to stand. She tilted her head at him and frowned as he smiled serenely at her. “Come.” he said simply, pulling her to follow him.

She allowed herself to be walked to to... the throne? She frowned at the chair, then at Ardyn who walked up the steps and sat himself upon the throne, a grin upon his face he gestured for her to join him. Hesitantly she headed up the steps towards him. As she got closer she took his extended hand, then let out a gasp as she was pulled into his lap.

“Wha-” she fumbled in his lap.

He adjusted her position so that she was sitting on his lap. He tilted his head. “Indulge me?”

Her eyes widened as she realised what he was asking. “Y-you want?” she looked at what they were currently sitting on. “H-here?!” she wasn't sure if she could do that, it would be a betrayal of everyone she knew and everything that they stood for. She could only _imagine_ what Ignis and Loqi would have to say about it....actually Loqi would probably find it funny in private.

He rolled his hips against hers, causing her to close her eyes with a moan. “Please, Ellie?” he leaned up and nipped at her chin, the action causing him to brush against her again. “Please?”

She looked down and locked eyes with his glittering ones. “Is this what you truly want?”

He reached up and touched her cheek tenderly,his face turning serious. “Please Ellie, I won't see you again after tonight, this is all I ask, please.” he pulled her face down and brushed his lips against hers. The kiss was filled with so much, so many emotions that she couldn't pick up on, but what she did feel caused her heart to ache. He was saying goodbye.

She let out a shaky breath as he pulled his lips away. She opened her mouth to say something, but paused. This moment needed no more words, there were none that she could say right now, so instead she allowed her actions to speak for her. She leaned down and pushed her lips against his while she reached down to tug at his shirts. She felt him smile against her lips and his hands reached for the buttons of her shirt.

 

X

 

She pushed her naked chest against his as the chill of the room began to hit the sweat on her back. “You should get dressed Dear.” she heard him murmur into her shoulder. She shook her head and clutched him tighter. She didn't _want_ to get dressed. Getting dressed meant that the moment was over. Getting dressed meant that it was time for her to leave- she wasn't ready for that.

“I don't want to leave you...” she mumbled,voicing her thoughts as she buried her face in his hair. She shivered as his hand touched her back to rub soothing circles.

“The prince will be here soon... you need to go.” he continued to rub her back, a contradiction to his words. He held up the black book that she had brought with her. “May I keep this?” when she nodded he smiled and lifted his vest so that he could tuck it into one of his pockets.

“I'll stay with you, defend you one last time.” she said as she watched him rise and gather his clothes.

“You're not ready, you have people that need you.” he turned to her and pushed her hair back gently and frowned as he saw her tears. He reached down and rubbed her cheek gently. “You cannot die for me.”

She shook her head again but allowed herself to be pulled up to stand. She watched him dress himself while she did the same. If he allowed her to, she would have stayed, she would die defending him. If he had told her years ago his plans, she would have gone with him, it would have destroyed her, having a part in ending the world, but she still would have stayed with him. Once she was dressed, she jumped at the feeling of something being put on her head. She looked up to his smiling face and she reached up to her head, she felt his hat upon her head.

“But....”

He pulled another hat out of seemingly nowhere. “I have spares...” he winked before putting his coat on her shoulders. “I have a spare of this as well.” he watched as she pulled the coat around her and inhaled the scent. “Now I have something for you.” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys, he passed them to her with a jingle, then gestured for her to follow him.

Confusion etched on her face, she allowed herself to be led from the throne room and down a fleet of stairs that led to a dark, almost pitch black room. Unease filled her, where had he taken her? She opened her mouth to ask _where_ they were, when he clapped his hands. She blinked rapidly as the room filled with light and her eyes adjusted to the area. She blinked in confusion. She was in a car garage.

“I want you to take this, she should get you out of the city safely.” he stepped towards a car, a car that she hadn't seen in years.

Her eyes watered again as she walked to the red car. His car. “Ardyn...I...”

He shook his head, a smile on his face. “That's an order Ellie.”

She let out a sob. “You're not my Boss anymore....” her shoulder's shook. “You're not my Boss....”

“My final order then.” he said simply. “Please Ellie.”

She threw herself against him, pushed her lips against his and poured everything that was her into the kiss. She used the the kiss to say everything she had ever wanted to say and more, and when she pulled back, she said it, to make sure that the message got across. “I love you.” she whispered and felt him tremble beneath her fingertips.

“Go Ellie.” he said quietly. He touched her cheek one last time before stepping away. He watched her as she climbed into the car. She was silent as she did so, she started the car and gripped the wheel tightly as she moved the car followed the garage out of the palace. When she reached the exit of the garage, she took one last look back at him, he was waving at her with his hat, causing her to let out a choked laugh and she resisted the urge to turn the car back to him, even though every fibre in her body wanted to do so.

She continued on into the city, from there she drove untouched by daemons and she did not stop her journey until she was back in Hammerhead, where Loqi and Raine were waiting for her. She pulled the car in by her trailer and tightened her hands around the wheel with a shaky breath. She had done it, she had seen him and soon he would be gone. Dead. A tremor ran through her body. She heard the door open beside her with a click, a soft hand touched hers.

“Mum.. are you alright?” her voice was quiet and filled with worry.

Ellie turned to her daughter and felt her stomach twist as images of Ardyn flashed before her eyes. She reached forward and touched the girls cheek, she stroked it gently and smiled weakly. “I'm alright love,” she turned in her seat so that her legs were out of the car, she then pulled the youth into her arms. “I'm alright...”

“Elise.” Loqi frowned and crossed his arms, she couldn't tell if it was worry or something else in his eyes.

“Did he give you the coat, and the hat?” Raine whispered into her mother's ears.

Ellie pulled back and lifted the hat from her head, she had almost forgotten that she was wearing it. As she removed it from her head two pieces of paper fluttered down from the inside of the hat. Rain jumped back as Ellie reached down to pick them up. As she grasped the squares she realised that they were photo's, she heard Loqi ask what they were as she flipped them over. She found herself unable to speak and her eyes widened. He had kept them. She thought that he had lost them in the car, but he had in fact, kept them. She hastily hid the photo of them against the rock in a pocket of his, _her_ , coat- it wouldn't do well for anyone to see that particular photo. The other however, she held carefully and took in every aspect of it. It was old and somewhat worn, but you could see creases in it where it had been held- he had held onto it for all of these years...

“Oh my...” she heard Loqi's incredulous words- she didn't need to look up, she could _hear_ his eyebrow raised.

“Is that... my father?” Raine asked and she reached out to touch the photo.

Ellie looked up at her with wet eyes. “It is.” she nodded.

“You two look... happy.” she said quietly.

“We were.” Ellie smiled at the memory of their kisses, their hugs... her chasing after him whenever he ran off because he had a short attention span when shopping. As she remembered all of their times together, the more she loved him, were that possible. She slowly placed the photo into her pocket along with it's partner where she would keep it safe. “I'll tell you everything you want to know... soon, tonight, right now I want to.. I want to watch.” she looked towards her snipers nest.

Raine looked as though she wanted to protest, but Loqi placed a hand on her shoulder's. “Come, you can help me get dinner ready.” he pulled her away as Ellie climbed out of the car and made her way to her spot.

_She sat there for hours, staring out into the distance. When the light returned to the world, she knew it had happened._

_She pulled herself up and readied herself for the questions that awaited her._

_She owed it to Raine.... and him..._

 

x

 

“Thanks Mama for watching her.” A boy in his twenties, with short, unruly red curls and green eyes said as he picked up the four year old girl in a blue dress and placed her on his hip. “I really appreciate it.”

Ellie's eyes crinkled as she smiled. “You're quite welcome.” she reached a wrinkled hand out to ruffle the girl's own head of red curls- apparently Ardyn's hair could not be bred out of the family. “I love looking after Rin.”

“ _Mama._ ” the girl protested and reached up to straighten her hair. She poked her tongue out at her laughing grandmother- no _Great Grandmother_. Her eyes then locked onto the mug in the older woman's other hand. “Can I have some of your chocolate milk?”

Ellie looked down at the mug in her hand, then back at her granddaughter. “I'm sorry love, this one is special- but I can give you a tin to take home and you can have some when you get there?” she laughed as the girl bounced on her father's hip.

“Yay! I want! I want!”

The boy, her father, smiled fondly at the child. “I'll go get it Mama-”

“No,” Ellie cut him off. “I'll go- it'll take me barely a minute.” She was correct. It took her exactly one minute to get the tin of chocolate, even at her age, she knew the house like the back of her hand- Ardyn had left her more than the car. “Here you go.” she said as she walked back into the main foyer, she passed the girl the tin and smiled into her mug as the girl cuddled the tin.

“Look after her, Martin.” she addressed her grandson. “Yourself as well.”

Martin smiled, apparently Ardyn's smile was passed down the generations as well. “I will Mama- we'll see you in a few days, take care of yourself- I don't want you falling down those stairs...” he sent a look to the stairs leading up to the second floor.

Ellie rolled her eyes. The stairs had been a point of argument between her and her family, Raine constantly begged her to move into a smaller house, one with less stairs and tripping hazards- she had not changed Ardyn's décor, she had added to it though, causing more “ _tripping hazards”_. “Worry about your daughter, not me.” she sipped at her drink.

“Daddy, I want chocolate milk, can we go home?” Rin piped, watching her grandmother drinking.

Martin smiled wryly. “Alright,” he sighed. “lets get you home.” he walked to the front door and opened it, before stepping through the threshold he turned back to Elise. “Take care.”

Careful to not spill her drink, Elise pulled the two into a hug. “I love you both.” she squeezed them and kissed their cheeks. “Take care loves.” she pulled back and smiled at them. She watched them as they walked across the front yard to the red car, the car that had once been _his,_ but as she got older, had given it to Martin- it's not like she was getting around much these days anyway. She waved to the car as it pulled away, when it was out of sight she closed the door and walked up to the study.

The study had not changed much in all the years, some new books, but it had stayed the same- a lot cleaner than it had every been since Ellie had take over. She walked over to the leather seat and sat at the desk. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, she clicked a number and put the phone to her ear, after a few rings it was answered.

“ _Hey Mum.”_

Ellie smiled and sipped her drink. “Hi Dear, just calling to see how you are.” she fingered the rim of her drink and assessed how much she had left, not much.

“ _I'm alright, nothing much has changed since I saw you the other day. How about you? I heard you watched Rin?”_

“I did,” Ellie sighed happily. “She's such a sweetie, always happy to run through the flowers in the garden.” she waved her hand with excitement, even though Raine could not see her. “And her dresses! She's always dressed like a princess- gods love her.”

“ _How was Martin? I haven't seen him in a while, apparently he has time to visit you but all I get is a phone call.”_

She could see Raine's eye roll, even if she physically couldn't. “He does live closer to me Dear, it's not easy to get to new Altissia from here, especially when he has a chocobo farm to look after.” she heard Raine 'tsk' and smiled. “How is Li?” she changed the subject with a sip of her drink. Ellie listened for the next hour as her daughter talked about how she and her husband, Li, were working on designs for the latest parts of the Altissian rebuilds. She enjoyed the passion in her daughter's voice, and the love that she had for her work.

“ _Anyway Mum, I have to get some sleep soon- lot's of work in the morning.”_

“Of course, I love you Raine.”

There was a pause, then. _“I love you too Mum, are you okay? You sound... off...”_

“I'm fine Dear, goodbye Rainie.”

“ _Bye Mum.”_

When the phone disconnected, Ellie flipped through her contacts and dialled another number. She jumped when it was answered almost instantly. _“Yes Ellie?”_ she smiled, Loqi sounded annoyed, that being said, he always sounded annoyed.

“Did I interrupt something?” she teased.

“ _What? No! Why do you always assume that?”_

“Because you're an old pervert. I don't know how Ignis puts up with you.” she heard a fumbling of the phone on the other end.

“ _Some days, I wonder the same thing-” “Give me the phone back!”_ she heard more fumbling, then Loqi's voice again. _“Anyway, what do you want?”_

“ _What a way to speak to your cousin.”_ She heard Ignis tut.

Ellie laughed. “I don't want anything, I just wanted to see how you are, check in, you know?” she sipped her drink then checked how much was left. Not much now.

Loqi made a sound, and she heard Ignis say something, but she couldn't tell what it was, it seemed to irritate Loqi- again he was always annoyed. _“I am well, Ignis is well, we are currently-”_

“ _Loqi!”_

“ _What? The lady fucked Ardyn Izunia, I really doubt she cares if we're-”_

“ _Loqi!”_

Ellie threw her head back with laughter- she loved listening to the two when they fought like this, he was so glad that they hadn't changed in all of the years. “It's okay, I have to go soon, I just wanted to see how you were... and to tell you, thank you, for everything that you've done for me.” she pushed her white hair behind her ear as she felt her face heat up. “All of these years... you two have been rocks for me, thank you so much.”

“ _Elise...”_ came Ignis' voice. _“Are you alright?”_

“ _Ellie...”_ Loqi's voice took a serious tone.

Ellie waved her hand dismissively. “I'm okay, truly.... I just wanted to thank you, I'm feeling old and sentimental.”

“ _Ellie...”_ Loqi's voice was warning.

“I'm fine,” she reassured. “Look, I need to go... I love you both, thank you for everything.”

“ _Elise, we will always be there for you and I'm sure that if Loqi were not scowling in such a childish way, he would agree with me.”_

“ _Iggy! Ugh.. fine... Ellie, you know we love you- now stop being a sentimental old biddy and get some sleep- isn't it late in the Empire?”_

Ellie chuckled. “Goodbye Ignis, Goodbye Loqi, thank you.” she ended the call and put her phone on the desk. She looked down at her mug and downed the rest of her drink. With a whistful smile, she pulled herself up from the desk and left the room, clicking the door closed behind her. She walked across the hall to her room, _his room._ She then proceeded to get herself ready for bed, she brushed her teeth, did her hair and changed into a white silk nightdress. It was the same routine that she had had for the last few decades, tonight it was different. Tonight she opened her wardrobe and pulled out a coat and a hat, she donned the coat and carried the hat with her to the bed.

She put the hat on the pillow opposite to her as she laid in the bed, the coat giving her a stronger warmth than her blanket could. He hadn't seen the coat in years, hadn't taken it out in years. She had lifter her life and tried not to despair with her memories, she smiled, she had had a pretty good life. She snuggled into the bed and hugged the coat, which still smelled of him, and went to sleep.

_She opened her eyes and blinked rapidly, everything was so bright. She rubbed her eyes as the world around her faded to colours, swirling clouds of blues, purples, blacks and greys. She turned around, the clouds moving as she did, where was she?_

“ _Hello?” She said quietly, there was a white flash in the clouds but then they went back to normal. She pressed her hands to her mouth in a cup and called out. “Hello!”_

_The clouds flashed white again, the light causing her to notice her fingers... they were young again. She frowned and looked down at her chest, which her nightdress barely covered, again there were no wrinkles. She was... young again? She touched her face, no wrinkles._

_She wrapped the coat around her and shivered, the action made her notice the hat on her head. She reached up and grasped it, when had that happened? Her eyes widened as she caught sight of her dark hair. As she reached up to touch her hair, realisation hit her._

_It had happened._

_As her revelation hit her, the clouds suddenly shone a blinding white, a beam of light shot through and stood before her. The light pulsed, then with each pulse grew, pushing the clouds away. Ellie flinched as the light pushed past her, but it did not affect her. She covered her eyes with her forearm as the light became blinding. Then all of a sudden the light was gone, and she felt a warmth, like the sun, touching her._

_She pulled her arm away from her eyes and gasped. She was in a beautiful field of wildflowers._

“ _T-This....”_

“ _It's been a long time, Dear Ellie...” A voice said from behind her._

_She gasped, she had not heard that voice in years... she turned, her chest tightened painfully but her heart seemed to be pounding at the same time. He was there, not four feet from her._

_He removed his hat an bowed to her. “It's good to see you my-” before he could say any more he found himself with an armful of Elise. “...Dear...” he smiled warmly and wrapped his arms around her._

“ _I've missed you so...” she mumbled into his chest. “Is this a dream?” she looked up with worried eyes as panic began to set in, she didn't know if she would be able to cope if this was a dream._

_He shook his head. “No, this is real...” he pushed her hair behind her ear. “You've lived a long life.”_

_She smiled and pulled back so that she could look up at him. “I have so much to tell you.”_

_His hand slid down her face and his fingers brushed against her lips. “I want to hear everything.”_

_She smiled a beautiful smile. “I love you.” she felt him tremble against her._

“ _Dear Ellie...” he pulled her in for a kiss._

_She clutched at him and held him as tight as she could. Warm. She felt warm. Being with him, she felt complete._

_She was home._

 

 

 

A/N: Well this is the end, I hope that you guys enjoyed the story and thank you for reading!


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